Stock-photo website Shutterstock on Tuesday said it will acquire Giphy and its online repository of animated images for $53 million, after UK antitrust regulators forced Meta to spin off the company last year.
The value of the deal is sharply lower than the $315 million Meta was widely reported to have paid to acquire Giphy in 2020.
UK officials had alleged that Meta's acquisition would reduce competition in advertising and social media, and an appeals court upheld that decision last year, prompting Meta to say it would sell Giphy to comply with the UK's breakup order.
The deal will add GIFs and reaction stickers to Shutterstock's digital content library while expanding Shutterstock's access to Giphy's 1.7 users, the company said in Tuesday's announcement.
The transaction is expected to close in June.
