Imaging Industry Exits

Note: Last updated in 2014.

Below is a list of 113 acquisitions and IPOs in the imaging industry from 2004 to ~~today~~ 2014. It’s a companion resource to the Photography Industry Landscape, a strategic snapshot of the photography industry today. To access the list of exits as a Google Doc, with additional notes, click here.

First off, a couple notes and thoughts:

Why 2004?

Because there has to be a start, and because 2004 is ten years ago, and a lot changes in an industry in ten years. Stock library acquisitions dominated the lists of exits throughout the early and mid 2000s, but as Internet and mobile technology have changed the photography industry since then, the sources of value creation have shifted and the type of exits have changed as well. I’m more focused on the last 5-ish years because it’s more relevant to the future of the industry, but also wanted to show some historical perspective as well.

##W hy aren’t all the stock photo image acquisitions included?
Many stock image library acquisitions are included, but it’s not exhaustive. Jim Pickerell has compiled data on that on Selling Stock, and I’ve worked to include most of them, but will probably not include all of them. Why? See next question.

Why did you include blogging, messaging, and social media platforms in the exit list?

WhatsApp, Tumblr and others are not photography industry companies, agreed. But imagery has been critical to their product and an engine for their growth, and while they are not photography companies per se, I think they are important signals behind how the industry has changed and where the opportunities lie. That’s why I created an Area called “Sharing, Messaging, and Community” in the Photography Industry Landscape. So for strategic analysis purposes, let’s consider them as part of the industry.

Can you add a company that is missing, or correct some details?

Yes! Just email me.

Company	Acquirer	Type	Area	Date	Price ($ mm)
FlyLabs	Google	Acquisition	Imaging Technology	14-Nov	–
Linx	Apple	Acquisition	Imaging Technology	14-Apr	20
Artifact Uprising	VSCO	Acquisition	Prints and Products	14-Jan	–
Picturelife	StreamNation	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	14-Jan	–
Fotolia	Adobe	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	14-Dec	800
Aviary	Adobe	Acquisition	Infrastructure Applications	14-Sep	–
Jetpac	Google	Acquisition	Image Recognition	14-Aug	–
Sight.io	EyeEm	Acquisition	Image Recognition	14-Aug	–
MadBits	Twitter	Acquisition	Image Recognition	14-Jul	–
SkyBox Imaging	Google	Acquisition	Satellite Imaging	14-Jun	500
Dropcam	Google	Acquisition	Video monitoring	14-Jun	555
GoPro	IPO	IPO	Imaging Equipment	14-Jun	2,960
PhotoDrive	Yahoo	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	14-Jun	–
Loom	Dropbox	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	14-Apr	–
Cameo	Vimeo	Acquisition	Editing	14-Mar	–
Oculus VR	Facebook	Acquisition	Virtual reality	14-Mar	2,000
WebDam	Shutterstock	Acquisition	Corporate Photo Management	14-Mar	–
WhatsApp	Facebook	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	14-Feb	19,000
Wander (Days)	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	14-Feb	–
Gallery Stock	Trunk Archive	Acquisition	Stock Image Library	14-Feb
PhotoWorks	Shutterfly	Acquisition	Prints and Products	14-Jan	–
Data Archive	Photoshot	Acquisition	Corporate Photo Management	14-Jan	–
Replay Photos	Lulu	Acquisition	Professional Photo Management	14-Jan	–
SnappyLabs	Apple	Acquisition	Imaging Equipment	14-Jan	–
Ptch	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Dec	7
Quik.io	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Dec	–
AgStock	Design Pics	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	13-Nov	–
Familiar	Evidence.com	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Oct	–
Borrow Lenses	Shutterfly	Acquisition	Retailers and Rentals	13-Oct	–
Lookflow	Yahoo	Acquisition	Image Recognition	13-Oct	–
5by	StumbleUpon	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Sep	–
Luma.io	Instagram	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Aug	–
IQ Engines	Yahoo	Acquisition	Image Recognition	13-Aug	–
Qwiki	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Jul	50
LiveBooks	WeddingWire	Acquisition	Professional Photo Management	13-Jul	–
Go Try It On	Rent the Runway	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Jun	–
Tumblr	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-May	1,100
Pixmac	Pond5	Acquisition	Stock Image Library	13-Mar	–
Kaptur	AHAlife.com	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	13-Jan	–
Zenfolio	Art.com	Acquisition	Professional Photo Management	13-Jan	6
Fotomoto	liveBooks	Acquisition	E-commerce	12-Dec	–
Axiom Photographic	Design Pics	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Dec	–
Snapjoy	Dropbox	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	12-Dec	–
Demotix	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Nov	–
Color	Apple	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	12-Oct	–
1000Memories	Ancestry.com	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	12-Oct	–
Vine	Twitter	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	12-Oct	30
Viewdle	Google	Acquisition	Image recognition	12-Oct	45
Shutterstock	IPO	IPO	Stock Image Agency	12-Oct	550
Alaska Stock Images	Design Pics	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Oct	–
Cultura	Image Source	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Oct	–
Pixable	SingTel	Acquisition	Infrastructure Applications	12-Sep	27
Nik Software	Google	Acquisition	Editing, Mobile Editing	12-Sep	–
Getty	Carlyle Group	Private Equity	Stock Image Agency	12-Aug	3,300
Biosphoto	Photononstop	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Aug	–
Daily Booth	Airbnb	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	12-Jul	–
AP France	dapd Media Holding	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jul	–
Science Faction Images	SuperStock	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jul	–
Ad Stock Images	Universal Image Group	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jun	–
MyLoupe	Universal Image Group	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jun	–
Face.com	Facebook	Acquisition	Image Recognition	12-Jun	100
Zcool, China	123RF	Partnership	Stock Image Agency	12-May	–
Lightbox.com	Facebook	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	12-May	–
Lonely Planet	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Apr	–
Instagram	Facebook	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	12-Apr	715
Specialist Stock	Robert Harding Imagery	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Mar	–
Wilogo.com	Fotolia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Mar	–
Latinstock Spain	Cordon Press	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jan	–
Norm Marshall Group	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	12-Jan	–
First Light	Design Pics	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	11-Dec	–
Pacific Stock	Design Pics	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	11-Dec	–
56.com	Renren	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	11-Sep	–
Smilebox	Incredimail	Acquisition	E-commerce	11-Aug	40
Pixlr	Autodesk	Acquisition	Editing	11-Jul	–
PittPatt	Google	Acquisition	Image Recognition	11-Jul	–
Splash Media	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	11-Jul	–
PhotoBox	Photoways	Acquisition	Prints and Products	11-May	–
Reflex Stock	Ingram Image	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	11-May	–
PhotoLibrary	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	11-May	–
PicScout	Getty	Acquisition	Image Security	11-Apr	20
Plixi	ADOR	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	11-Jan	3
Pict	POPSUGAR	Acquisition	E-commerce	11-Jan	10
Polar Rose	Apple	Acquisition	Image Recognition	10-Sep	29
IMSense	Apple	Acquisition	Imaging Equipment	10-Sep	–
Like.com	Google	Acquisition	Image Recognition	10-Aug	100
Crestock	Masterfile	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	10-Jul	–
ShootQ	Pictage	Acquisition	Professional Photo Management	10-Jul	–
Divvyshot	Facebook	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	10-Mar	–
Picnik	Google	Acquisition	Editing	10-Mar	–
Bigstock	Shutterstock	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	9-Sep	–
Tiny Pictures	Shutterfly	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	9-Sep	–
Jupitermedia	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	9-Feb	96
Redferns Library	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	8-Dec	–
flauntR	FotoDesk	Acquisition	Editing	8-Jun	–
Getty	Hellman & Friedman	Private Equity	Stock Image Agency	8-Feb	2,400
Veer	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	7-Nov	–
Fotolog	Hi-media	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	7-Aug	90
Mediabistro	Jupitermedia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	7-Jul	–
Panaramio	Google	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	7-Jun	–
Scoopt	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	7-Mar	–
MediaVast	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	7-Feb	207
Shutterfly	IPO	IPO	Prints and Products	6-Sep	350
Jumpcut	Yahoo	Acquisition	Editing	6-Sep	–
Vimeo	IAC	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	6-Aug	–
Workbookstock	Jupitermedia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	6-Jun	–
Stockbyte	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	6-Apr	135
iStockPhoto	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	6-Feb	50
PictureArts	Jupitermedia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-Jul	63
Australian Picture Library	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-Jun	–
zefa	Corbis	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-Jun	–
Photonica	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-May	51
Digital Vision	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-Apr	165
Flickr	Yahoo	Acquisition	Sharing, Messaging, and Community	5-Mar	40
Snapfish	HP	Acquisition	Prints and Products	5-Mar	300
StockImage S.A.S.	Jupitermedia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	5-Feb	–
image.net	Getty	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	4-Aug	20
Picasa	Google	Acquisition	Consumer Photo Management	4-Jul	–
Comstock	Jupitermedia	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	4-Apr	21
Superstock	A21	Acquisition	Stock Image Agency	4-Mar	–

* * *

Thank you to Ellen Boughn, Andrew Fingerman, John Workman, and Jim Pickerell for reviewing and adding companies to the list of exits.