UK regulator finds competition concerns in Getty-Shutterstock merger

Britain’s competition watchdog said on Thursday it provisionally found concerns over UK editorial content supply in the proposed merger between U.S.-based Getty Images and rival Shutterstock but cleared the deal in the global stock content market.

Both companies said they disagreed with the Competition and Markets Authority’s provisional finding on editorial content and plan to file responses by the March 12 deadline, while continuing to work with the U.S. Department of Justice on its ongoing review of the deal.

The provisional decision marks a setback for a merger of two of the world’s largest visual content providers, as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic scrutinize potential impacts on competition in markets serving media outlets and creative businesses.

The CMA in November said it will launch a Phase 2 review of the $3.7 billion merger, as the remedies offered by the companies failed to address the regulator’s concerns.

Getty shares were up 1.9%, while Shutterstock was marginally up at 0.9% in U.S. premarket trading.