Getty Images gets bought by Hellman & Friedman

2.4 BILLION. That's B for billion and 2.4 as in 2.4 billion. That is a hefty sum to pay for this woolley, slow moving mamouth, rich in content though. Getty Images Inc got snapped up today by private equity shop Hellman & Friedman affiliates for $34 per share in cash, in a deal it said was worth $2.4 billion, including the assumption of debt. That is a nice premium to the $1.5 billion everyone thought was the asking price only a month or so back and a premium of 55 percent over their closing price in January. Seems like H&F might have overpaid a bit and I'd love to know how they came up with that valuation but I know that Getty wasn't going to sell themselves for the 1.5 or 1.6 billion, which was the amount dangled in front of their eyes a month back. They have until the second quarter of this year to close the deal which I expect will.

What does this mean for the industry? Well there are going to be some big changes over at Getty which has been in a sink hole the last few years. Everything will still run through the giant image and footage company but I wonder if Jonathan Klein's job will be safe. I doubt it. How much of their workforce will be cut? Probably more than should be but they always have a place at Cutcaster ;-) What changes will be made in strategy and how will the company now report those changes to the people under contract with them? Will H&F be able to turn Getty around and alleviate the uproar photographers under contract with them have been creating?

More to come later ;-) but a fun way to start off the week. If you have any thoughts on the deal lets start a discussion below.