Getty Images Reportedly For Sale

New York Times:

Getty Images, the world's biggest supplier of pictures and video to media and advertising companies, has put itself on the auction block and could fetch more than $1.5 billion, people briefed on the situation said Sunday.

The firm hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on a potential sale, these people said. The company has attracted interest from several buyers, mostly private equity firms, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital and others.

Final bids are due by the end of the month, but people briefed on the auction cautioned that it was unclear which firms would submit a final bid. A sale is not assured, because the tightening of the high-yield debt markets has cut off private equity firms from the lifeblood of their business, making it harder to finance deals.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Tom95134]

I'd bet Getty IMages ends up in the hands of either Bill Gates or Google.

[hu.man]

Is that a young John Edwards snapping a photo in the picture? I didn't know he was a photographer too. Nice, he has something to fall back on after this election is over!