New York-based Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) has acquired the online graphic design and image editing platform, PicMonkey for around $110 Million.
The PicMoney platform gives creators the ability to make presentations, advertisements and logos, to business cards and banners. The platform can thus be used in cases such as digital marketing, advertising, and social media posts.
Shutterstock is known for their comprehensive stock library of high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, videos, 3D models and music. Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 380 million images and more than 22 million video clips available.
The acquisition of PicMonkey, an Online Image and Design platform is, therefore, a perfect complementary acquisition for Shutterstock.
The platform not only supplements Shutterstock with easy to use image and video design tools but expands its audience reach. The market for creative software and design tools is a growing market with over $8 billion in opportunities.
PicMonkey is expected to contribute approximately 3% to Shutterstock’s annual revenues and to add more than 200,000 new subscribers.
“Content is at the core of Shutterstock’s offering, and selecting an asset is just one step of the creative process. A key element of Shutterstock’s strategy and vision is providing a suite of solutions for the entire creative journey, regardless of experience or expertise level,”
SAID STAN PAVLOVSKY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT SHUTTERSTOCK.
How will this affect the PicMonkey Platform?
The PicMonkey platform will remain the same for the most part but the existing stock photography options will be swapped.
That’s right, Shutterstock’s enormous library of royalty-free stock photos will replace Unsplash & iStock by Getty images, effective September 14, 2021.
After September 14, Unsplash images will no longer be available in PicMonkey. If you have Unsplash images in Hub, these images have always been unwatermarked and royalty-free, so you may continue to use them in your projects.
If you have any more questions about how this affects the platform, check out the Everything to Know About PicMonkey + Shutterstock FAQ.
My take on this change: That is pretty significant change but Shutterstock isn’t running a non-profit so it is an understandable change. It would however be better if they kept these platforms with Shutterstock being the primary option.
What are your thoughts on this acquisition by Shutterstock? Leave your thoughts below.
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