Meta Sells Giphy to Shutterstock for $53 Million

[Edited] Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has sold Giphy to online stock-photo marketplace Shutterstock in a cash deal worth $53 million.

Credit: Reuters

This comes as a significant loss for Meta, as it had acquired Giphy in 2020 for $315 million. The acquisition is expected to close in June, and Shutterstock has stated that it will maintain its full-year revenue guidance, with minimal revenue expected from Giphy in 2023.

The sale of Giphy was ordered by the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022 due to potential anti-competitive effects. The CMA had been investigating the deal since June 2020. Giphy, a platform for searching and using animated images in messaging apps, was well-integrated into Meta's ecosystem and had been a target for acquisition by the social media company for years before the 2020 purchase.

The U.K.'s anti-trust authority has been closely scrutinizing technology acquisitions in recent months. In April, the CMA blocked Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision, citing concerns about potential adverse effects on the cloud gaming industry.

Meta has also faced regulatory oversight in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a "blanket" ban on Meta monetizing young users' data and has accused the company of violating a 2020 privacy order. Meta has dismissed the FTC's efforts as a "political stunt."

A spokesperson for Meta expressed gratitude to the Giphy team during this uncertain time and wished them success following the divestiture order.

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• Meta has sold Giphy to Shutterstock in a $53 million cash deal.

• This marks a significant loss for Meta, as it had acquired Giphy for $315 million in 2020.

• The sale was ordered by the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority due to potential anti-competitive effects.

Source: CNBC