Meta Resells Giphy, GIF Platform, Shutterstock Sale Price Eight Times Less than Purchase Price Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced on Tuesday the resale of Giphy, the animated GIF platform, to Shutterstock’s image bank. The operation is 53 millions dollars, almost eight times less than 400 millions that Meta spent in 2020 to acquire Giphy. This sale follows a decision by the UK Competition Authority (CMA) to block Meta’s acquisition of Giphy in October 2022. The CMA felt that the deal would reduce competition in the digital services market and allegedly allowed Meta to gain access to Giphy. user data when they shared GIFs on other platforms. The Meta appealed the decision, but to no avail. In March 2023, the Competition Court of Appeals upheld that Meta should separate from Giphy in six month. The CMA also imposed a fine of 50 millions books (60 millions euros) to Meta for starting the integration of the two companies while the investigation was pending.
Worst operation for the Meta
Giphy is one of the largest banks of mini videos and animated GIFs that are widely used in online communication, especially social media. Giphy claims over 700 millions daily active users and over 10 billion GIFs viewed daily. The platform generates revenue by inviting brands to sponsor GIFs. Shutterstock is a company new-yorkaise which offers over 400 millions free images, videos and music for their customers. It has over 1.9 million members and over 200 millions active users per month. With the acquisition of Giphy, Shutterstock hopes to strengthen son offers creative and dynamic content. According to the press release, Shutterstock will pay for the acquisition in cash and credit funds. Meta will retain access to Giphy GIFs for its own platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Both companies say the takeover will not affect the experience of Giphy’s users and partners. Meta isn’t the only digital giant showing interest in GIFs. In 2018, Google acquired Tenor, another animated GIF platform, for an undisclosed amount. Unlike Meta, Google hasn’t faced any regulatory hurdles to refine it. son acquisition. Reselling Giphy at a bargain price is a setback for Meta, which is looking to solidify its dominance in the digital services market. The company makes face several antitrust investigations and lawsuits around the world, especially in the US and Europe. She was also sentenced on Monday by the Irish authorities. protection payment details record 1.2 billion euros for violation of the general provision on protection data (GDP).
