SEATTLE, WA (October 23, 2008) – Getty Images today says it has agreed to buy Jupitermedia's online image unit for $96 million in cash. It was Getty's second attempt to buy the business in two years.
Juptermedia's CEO and chairman Alan Meckler said that he and other stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of the sale, which is based on a stock purchase agreement, and that the proceeds will allow them to pay off their bank debt, David Kaplan at PaidContent.org reports. Jupiter's company statement today said the sale still has to be approved by stock holders and regulators.
Getty Images tried to make this deal back in February 2007 when it was a publicly held company, and investors watching Getty's stock price rise and fall had an impact on Getty's daily management and they failed to reach an agreement. At the time Jupitermedia's stock was worth roughly four times what it's value is today. Another change is that now Getty Images is privately held, bought by Hellman & Friedman in 2008 for $2.4 billion, which shielded the company from constantly being under an investors' magnifying glass.
