Getty Images, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire
The Image Bank from Eastman Kodak Company for $183 million.
The cash acquisition is expected to close in December 1999. It will be financed
through a combination of debt, and from the proceeds of an approximately five
million share offering by Getty Images, which is expected to be filed shortly.
Currently Getty's total outstanding shares are 35.4 million and the additional
shares will push their number of shares above 40 million. Shares were trading
today around $23.
Getty had $183 million is sales in 1998 and $107.1 million in the first six
months of 1999. TIB's revenues in 1998 were $70 million. Once this acquisition
is complete, and assuming no additional acquisitions, Getty's revenues in 2000
should be in excess of $285 million.
This acquisition puts Getty Images in an unassailable leadership position in
terms of gross revenues in the stock photo industry. The nearest challenger is
Visual Communications Group of London with slightly over $100 million in gross
sales. Corbis would now be number three and I estimate that they are in the $50
to $60 million range of gross sales.
The Image Bank has an international network of 10 wholly owned and 62 franchisee
offices spanning 40 countries. With this acquisition Getty expands its global
distribution network to 56 wholly owned offices in more than 20 countries, and
more than 165 agents and licensees worldwide.
Following the acquisition of The Image Bank, Getty Images will have in excess of
60 million images and more than 30,000 hours of
footage.
Getty has approximately 1,600 employees worldwide and TIB has about 500
employees.
"We are delighted about the acquisition of The Image Bank, not only because of
their exceptional content, but due to the significant
opportunity for both improving the revenue growth rate at The Image Bank and
also driving margin improvement through the application of our proven e-commerce
strategy," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Getty
Images. "In much the same way that we successfully e-commerce enabled Tony Stone
Images, thereby increasing its growth rate, we expect to bring The Image Bank
online, providing access to more potential markets as well as
significant operating benefits."
"Becoming part of Getty Images brings unprecedented opportunities to expand our
business and to focus more closely on our Internet sales efforts," said Rex V.
Jobe, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Image Bank. "By joining
forces with the market
leader in e-commerce, we will be able to introduce even more customers to our
imagery and to make use of the Internet to increase distribution and enhance
operating efficiencies."
The Image Bank's imagery and brands include:
-
The Image Bank - contemporary stock photography and
film footage with 10 million images and 5,000 hours of
footage. TIB has more than 1,500 photographers and illustrators and over 200
cinematographers. The library of TIB's Film Division is 100% digitized and
searchable.
- Archive Photos - the largest collection of archival
still imagery in North America with 20 million images.
- Archive Film - 10,000 hours of archival footage.
- Swanstock - A fine-art library of 100,000 images.
- Artville - 16,500 royalty-free illustrations and photographs.
For more on the implications of this acquisition for photographers see
(Story 248.)