Meta is selling Giphy to Shutterstock

Giphy, the website where a significant portion of the internet receives presents, was purchased by Meta last year. However, Meta is currently selling Giphy to a separate company as instructed by the UK. Meta will reportedly sell Giphy to Shutterstock, according to Engadget.

Nowadays anti-trust and anti-competition measures are a hot topic in the industry. Microsoft is trying hard to purchase Activision Blizzard. Firms are constantly monitored to prevent a company from growing too large and impeding the ability of other businesses to compete in the same market.

In Meta’s case, the company acquired Giphy a few years back for $400 million. Soon after that, the UK forced Meta to sell the platform. It was done in order to prevent Meta from controlling the GIF landscape. However, the decision was stopped for some time. Back in July 2022, the UK reviewed the decision and brought Meta back to the court.

Meta is selling Giphy at a huge loss

Well, at the end of the day, things didn’t work in Meta’s favor. Meta has to sell it to another company. Notably, Meta will be selling Giphy to stock photo giant Shutterstock. Meta will receive $53 million from this deal. It is a huge loss since it accounts for only 13% of the total that Meta spends to buy Giphy. The company is not happy with this.

In addition to this, Giphy services will continue to work on different platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The presents from Giphy will continue to function properly on those sites. The actual transaction is expected to conclude in June, so that is not too far off. Shutterstock will gain from this, and Meta will lose out on this.