Getty Images announced it will file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, describing the move as a pre‑packaged restructuring rather than a collapse, and expects to exit the process by the end of 2026 as a privately held company.

The company says it still holds sufficient cash to continue normal operations throughout the case, and a spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that no layoffs are planned for employees, partners or vendors.

Getty entered the filing with about $2.1 billion of debt as of June 30, having already retired $628.4 million of senior secured notes after a failed merger with Shutterstock.

Under the restructuring plan, all $270 million of senior unsecured notes will be retired, while secured creditors will extend maturities and accept lower interest through new notes, term loans and a revolving credit facility.

New equity will be injected by the Getty family and Koch Equity Development, with Koch providing roughly $143 million in debtor‑in‑possession financing and converting $100 million of its debt into equity.

The restructuring follows a costly attempt to merge with rival Shutterstock, which collapsed after the UK Competition and Markets Authority required the divestiture of Shutterstock’s editorial business, prompting Getty to walk away and incur over $100 million in professional fees.

Getty also skipped a September 1 interest payment on its unsecured notes despite having cash, a move that triggered a grace period and gave the firm leverage to negotiate with creditors.

The company attributes declining demand for its iStock e‑commerce arm to AI‑generated images, noting a drop in annual subscribers from 321,000 to 241,000 over the past year, though it plans to grow its editorial division modestly to $400 million by 2029.