Abu Dhabi-listed tech-focused holding company Multiply Group (Multiply) will invest AED 275 million (US$75 million) in the global visual content creator and marketplace Getty Images.
With a broad portfolio that includes the Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, the company reaches and empowers a broad base of customers ranging from international enterprises to amateur creators.
Multiply Group’s investment is connected to the planned merger between Getty Images and CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by CC Capital and Neuberger Berman. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022, after which a newly formed parent company of Getty Images is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “GETY”.
The merger, which was announced in early December, involves a total equity investment of $1.3 billion, valuing Getty Images at US$4.8 billion, including debt.Â
Multiply Group’s private investment in public equity (PIPE) commitment is incremental to the existing US$150 million PIPE, raised by CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II to contribute to funding of the transaction.
Getty Images will be a valuable addition to Multiply Group’s portfolio of investments in fast-growing, global tech-centric businesses, which include digital marketing firms Firefly and Yieldmo.
Multiply Group recently raised AED 3.1 billion in a private placement ahead of its listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on December 5, 2021.Â
In the last 2 years, the Group has made a number of strategic investments complementary to this sector including stakes in San Francisco-based street-level DOOH media company Firefly, New York-based contextual mobile advertising company Yieldmo, and the full acquisition of integrated communications company Viola.