(Sept 29): Getty Images Holdings Inc is holding confidential talks with lenders about injecting new money into the cash-strapped company, potentially through a debtor-in-possession loan, according to people familiar with the situation.
The negotiations also centre on lenders taking control of the photo archive and stock-image company through a potential bankruptcy, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The Getty family is also considering putting in money, they said.
Discussions are ongoing and no final decision has been made.
Getty is being advised by investment bank Guggenheim Securities and law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, while secured lenders have aligned themselves with investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc and law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. A group of unsecured creditors retained law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Bloomberg previously reported.
Representatives for Guggenheim and Houlihan declined to comment, while messages left with the company, Simpson Thacher, Gibson Dunn and Akin Gump were not returned.
Getty is currently operating under a 30-day grace period after failing to make interest payments due Sept 1 on its unsecured notes, according to regulatory filings. The company said at the time that it had the cash to make the payments but chose to use the grace period.
The company’s credit ratings have fallen as its liquidity pressures mount. S&P Global Ratings in September cut Getty to CCC after its planned merger with Shutterstock Inc was abandoned in July. Moody’s Ratings also in September lowered Getty’s corporate family rating two notches to Caa3 after it entered the grace period, saying it expected further liquidity deterioration absent a cash infusion or debt restructuring.
The company had listed about US$51.6 million (RM210.66 million) of cash and $30 million of availability under its US$150 million revolving credit facility as of June 30. Getty subsequently fully drew down the revolver in July.
Getty had more than US$1.3 billion of debt as of June 30, according to regulatory filings.
Getty has been exploring financing alternatives since the Shutterstock transaction was abandoned. The deal had been expected to provide the company with a US$162 million cash benefit, according to an earlier S&P report.
The company has blamed its liquidity woes on the high interest-rate environment, a US$110.9 million litigation payment and costs associated with the scrapped transaction. It also faces industry headwinds from the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
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