Getty Images plans Chapter 11 and go‑private deal

Getty Images (GETY) has reached a restructuring support agreement that sets the framework for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and a transition to a private company. The agreement is intended to reshape the photo archive and stock‑image provider’s capital structure through a court‑supervised process. The contemplated filing is expected to be limited to certain U.S. entities rather than the entire global organization.

Under the plan, the company will first seek formal approval from its creditor groups. Getty Images (GETY) expects to solicit creditor votes and then file its Chapter 11 cases in the coming weeks. The company has set a target of emerging from the restructuring by year‑end, signaling a relatively compressed timetable for completing the process.

To fund operations and the restructuring process, Koch Equity Development will provide up to $143 million in debtor‑in‑possession financing. This facility is designed to ensure that Getty Images has sufficient liquidity while it operates under Chapter 11 protection. The financing forms a core part of the capital structure solution that supports the prepackaged nature of the filing.

The debtor‑in‑possession financing sits alongside broader changes to the company’s balance sheet that are embedded in the restructuring support agreement. Together, these measures are intended to stabilize the business during the bankruptcy period and enable an orderly transition to its post‑reorganization ownership structure.

A significant feature of the framework is the participation of unsecured bondholders. Noteholders representing 83.5% of the company’s unsecured bonds have agreed to eliminate $270 million of outstanding senior unsecured notes. This agreement reduces a substantial portion of Getty Images’ unsecured debt load as part of the Chapter 11 plan.

The broad support from this creditor group is a key element of the prepackaged strategy, as it allows the company to enter court proceedings with a high level of pre‑negotiated consensus. This is expected to streamline the confirmation of the plan, subject to court approval and remaining creditor votes.

Upon emergence from Chapter 11, 100% of the equity in the reorganized company is expected to be owned by the Getty family and investors linked to Koch Equity Development. This structure would take Getty Images private, ending its status as a public company. The contemplated ownership shift is embedded in the restructuring support agreement that underpins the Chapter 11 plan.

By pairing new financing commitments with agreed‑upon debt elimination and a defined post‑emergence ownership structure, the transaction is designed to reposition Getty Images with a different capital profile and ownership base. Completion of the process will depend on creditor approvals and bankruptcy court confirmation within the targeted year‑end timeline.