Shutterstock said it’s buying Giphy from Meta for $53 million. The stock image service said it’s paying cash for Giphy, which has 1.7 billion daily users and partners include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok and Twitter.
Meta purchased Giphy in 2020, in a deal reportedly worth $400 million. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority opened an antitrust investigation over concerns it would result in “substantial lessening of competition” in the U.K. market for GIFs, or short looping videos.
The country’s competition watchdog ordered Meta to reverse the deal in 2021. Meta appealed but lost, forcing the sale.
The blocking Meta’s acquisition of Giphy marked the first time that the U.K. watchdog had sought to unwind a tech deal.
Shutterstock said it signed a deal to give Meta continued access to New York-based Giphy’s content across Meta’s platforms.
The transaction is set to close in the next month.