GETTY IS FOR SALE!

Getty Is For Sale! The New York Times last week broke a story that Getty Images may attempt to sell itself off in an auction which is to close in the next couple of days. If the story stands up, the target buyers are Private Equity firms. However, as the Times pointed out, Private Equity works by financing its acquisitions with massive debt. The current credit squeeze could mean the stock agency may fail to attract a buyer. Getty shares fell 47 per cent in the last full year, and while the giant is by no means stricken, it certainly has to strive to adapt. It's business model has been disrupted by the continuing digital revolution. Striking at the heart of Getty's way of making money is the World Wide Web, with its ability to massively aggregate the supply of - and demand for - digital images. The web opens the market to a mass of new participants, and enables ultra-low transaction costs. As the Times summed it up, it allows clients to find images more easily, for less money. Stock as we knew it, it seems, has been blown to bits.