Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has sold Giphy, the animated GIF search engine it bought for $400 million three years ago, to Shutterstock for just $53 million.
The deal, which comes after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered Meta to divest Giphy due to competition concerns, will see Shutterstock integrate the platform into its product suite.
This disposal follows months of legal wrangling since CMA's initial order in 2021, with Meta dropping its appeal and agreeing to the sale in October last year.
The terms dictated that Giphy must be sold as a whole to a capable buyer, preserving its functionality as a GIF search engine.
Shutterstock's acquisition aligns with its strategy to diversify content types, the company said.
The purchase will enhance its content library with GIFs and stickers, helping it tap into the consumer market and fortifying its "generative AI and metadata strategy", it added.