Shutterstock has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Giphy from Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, for $53 million. The transaction includes a commercial API agreement with Meta to ensure access to Giphy’s content across Meta’s platform, said Shutterstock. The transaction is expected to close in June 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

Shutterstock’s gain comes at a huge loss for Meta; a $262 million loss, to be exact. Meta purchased Giphy in 2020 for a whopping $315 million, but was subsequently forced to sell it on an order from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA),

After purchasing it for $315 million in 2020 and subsequently being ordered to sell Giphy by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on regulatory grounds.

Giphy is the world’s largest collection of GIFs and stickers that supplies casual conversational content. The company’s library of GIFs and stickers draws more than 1.3 billion search queries on a daily basis and powers more than 15 billion daily media impressions, says Shutterstock. These impressions are distributed via Giphy’s more than 14,000 API/SDK integrations and its owned-and-operated website and mobile app.

Giphy’s content can be found on Meta, as well as other social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter and Snapcha. Team collaboration platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams also use Giphy. Giphy’s content library comes from both individual artists who contribute original content along with media partners such as NBC, Disney, Netflix, NFL, MLB, and NBA.

CapM Advisors acted as financial advisor to Shutterstock in connection with the transaction.

[Image courtesy: Giphy]