For $300 million dollars, Getty Images might be sloughing off one of its many photo divisions, according to a report from the New York Daily News. If the sale happens, it will represent a big change for Getty, which has spent the past decade procuring dozens of stock imaging companies.
A source for the Daily News story said the branch in question is WireImage, one of the largest sources for celebrity and entertainment images and videos. The rumored buyer, Reuters, currently has no entertainment division. If Getty sells WireImage, it will still own Contour Images, a collection of celebrity stock photo images syndicated by Los Angeles Times photographers. Getty acquired Contour in 2010.
Getty has owned WireImage since 2007, when it purchased WireImage’s parent company, MediaVast Image, for $207 million. WireImage, created in 2001, specializes in celebrity and entertainment photos from awards ceremonies, movie and television premieres, concerts, festivals and major celebrity social events.