Shutterstock acquires paparazzi agency Splash

UPDATE: 31 July: Shutterstock’s recent financials report on the Splash acquisition ‘…the Company completed its acquisition of Splash News, for approximately $6.3 million….’

‘Splash News is a United Kingdom based entertainment news network and is a source for image and video content across celebrity, red carpet and live events. The Company believes this acquisition expands Shutterstock Editorial’s Newsroom offering for access to premium exclusive content.’
‘The identifiable intangible asset, developed technology, has a useful life of approximately 4 years. The goodwill arising from the transaction is primarily attributable to expected operational synergies and is not deductible for income tax purposes.
The Pond5 and Splash News transactions were accounted for using the acquisition method and, accordingly, the results of the acquired businesses have been included in the Company’s results of operations from the respective acquisition dates. For the three months ended June 30, 2022, revenue of $7.2 million was included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations related to these acquired companies….’

Splash, once the largest celebrity photo agency in the world, has found a new owner – Shutterstock.

Started in 1990 and originally sold to Corbis in 2011 by founders Kevin Smith (started The Mega Agency 2016) and Gary Morgan, Splash has been through a few owners over the years and most recently in the care of RCapital.
This news comes hot on the back of Shutterstock’s purchase of the stock video library Pond5 last week (see our announcement)and a change of CEO.

RCapital who have owned Splash since 2018 told PAN on the sale: “We looked to align Splash with a partner who shared their deep industry knowledge and flair to innovate – the addition of Splash to the Shutterstock Newsroom is an exciting milestone in their growth story. We wish the team at Splash every success for the future.”  

Shutterstock say: “Splash has been revered for decades as the best in the business for premium celebrity and entertainment content, and with this acquisition, Shutterstock will own the entertainment category,” said Jamie Elden, Chief Revenue Officer at Shutterstock. “The addition of Splash to The Newsroom will provide our global customers with an unrivaled experience through our unique concierge service, our comprehensive coverage of events, and one of the largest archive collections in the world.”

“Splash is an established and respected brand that has showcased some of the most significant pop culture moments, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Shutterstock family,” said Candice Murray, Vice President of Editorial at Shutterstock. “The fusion of Splash, a respected legacy brand, and the Shutterstock Newsroom, an elevated premium service offering, will allow us to scale our entertainment vertical. With this union, we are positioning Shutterstock as the market leader for entertainment, providing our global customer base with best-in-class editorial content.”

Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer announcing the news on his Twitter feed wrote: “We are the only company in our space that wakes up every single day thinking about content, technology and products that will improve the way our customers work #Shutterstock”
Aaron St Clair Shutterstock’s Director of Editorial Content commenting on the purchase wrote: “This… Is… HUGE!
I worked within their [Splash] amazing team for 16 years, and couldn’t be happier to be welcoming them to the Shutterstock family”.

• Shutterstock added a new CEO and acquired the stock video agency Pond5 a couple of weeks ago

• View all Splash news on PAN.