Filing Alert: Getty Images Chapter 11

Update (October 21, 2026): A comprehensive case summary is now available for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Getty Images Holdings, Inc.

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. and its debtor affiliates⁽¹⁾, a Seattle, WA-based global visual content marketplace, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 21 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The company attributes the filing primarily to three non-operational events. The first is litigation over public warrants assumed in its 2022 SPAC combination, which has produced over $200 million in adverse judgments and associated interest and $35 million in legal fees and expenses, with potential exposure of about $275 million from unasserted claims. The second is more than $100 million in fees incurred pursuing a merger with Shutterstock, which the company terminated in July 2026 after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority required divestiture of Shutterstock's entire editorial business. The third is an unsustainable debt service burden of approximately $239 million annually on approximately $1.46 billion of funded debt. Liquidity fell 80% in the 22 months before the filing.

The prepackaged filing aims to implement an RSA with an ad hoc group of first-lien term loan lenders and secured noteholders, all revolving lenders, an ad hoc committee of unsecured noteholders, and the company's two largest shareholders, affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development (KED), as plan sponsors. Consenting stakeholders hold approximately 90% of the term loans and 11.25% secured notes, 100% of the revolving loans and approximately 83% of the unsecured notes. The plan sponsors will invest up to $533 million, comprising up to $113 million of DIP loans, the equitization of approximately $100 million of EUR term loans held by certain of them, and cash at emergence, in exchange for 100% of the reorganized equity, subject to dilution by a MIP of up to 10%.

Under the plan, the USD term loans and 11.25% secured notes will convert into $580 million of new senior secured notes due April 2032, and EUR term loans held by non-sponsor lenders will convert into €313.9 million of new EUR term loans. Unsecured noteholders will share approximately $170.2 million in cash on $270 million of principal, GUCs are unimpaired, and existing equity and Section 510(b) claims, including all warrant claims, will be cancelled without distribution. The plan is projected to reduce funded debt by over $500 million and annual debt service by approximately $133 million. The cases will be funded by cash collateral and a multi-draw DIP facility of up to $143 million from KED, including $30 million of delayed-draw commitments, to be converted into common or preferred equity at emergence.

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. reports $3.1 billion in assets and $2.6 billion in liabilities. The filing indicates that there will be funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors. The case number is 26-11643.

⁽¹⁾ For a complete list of debtor entities, see the Chapter 11 Debtors table.

Chapter 11 Debtors

Top Unsecured Claims

Key Parties

Delaware Bankruptcy Counsel:

• Justin R. Alberto
  Cole Schotz P.C.
  Email: jalberto@coleschotz.com

Bankruptcy Counsel:

• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Signatories:

• Christopher Hoel – Authorized Officer

Claims Agent:

• Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC

Bondoro Insights is continuing to monitor this case and will provide further coverage as appropriate.

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