Getty Images Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Move to Go Private by Year-End

Getty Images formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Wednesday to execute a restructuring plan unveiled more than a week ago that will take the visual-content company private. In its Delaware bankruptcy court filing, Getty listed both estimated assets and estimated liabilities in the range of $1B to $10B. The bankruptcy filing follows the collapse of Getty's planned merger with rival Shutterstock under the pressure of heavy debt and increasing competition from AI-generated imagery. Affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development committed to provide up to $533M in new equity and will own 100% of the company following the restructuring, while Koch Equity Development is also providing up to $143M in financing to support the process. Getty launched a solicitation process on Wednesday to secure formal approval for the reorganization plan and expects to complete the restructuring by year-end while continuing ordinary-course operations without impact on contributors, partners, customers, employees, or vendors.