Posted on 01/22/2008 8:24:05 PM PST by Tramonto
SEATTLE (AP) — Shares of Getty Images Inc. soared Tuesday after the seller of stock photography and video footage acknowledged it is exploring strategic alternatives and said it retained Goldman Sachs as a financial adviser.
Investors sent the stock up $2.81, or 12.8 percent, to close at $24.75.
"While the evaluation process, including discussions with various interested parties, is ongoing, there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur," the company said in a statement.
The New York Times on Monday reported that the company is in play, with interest from private equity groups including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Bain Capital. Getty Images could fetch as much as $1.5 billion, according to the report. A spokeswoman declined to comment.
Getty Images, founded in 1995, posted a profit of $130.4 million in 2006, more than 10 times that of its closest publicly traded competitor, Jupitermedia Corp. But the company's stock plunged in August after cutting guidance for the fiscal year, and has stayed depressed since then, finally hitting a five-year low of $21.80 last week.
In a note to investors, Lehman Brothers analyst Caroline Sabbagha said the company is worth more than $1.5 billion, but potential buyers may have problems raising money, given the credit crunch in the U.S.
"While a potential sale of the company provides a near-term catalyst for the stock, we believe that if the near-term issues facing Getty are not more serious than we think, then the company has a business that is viable as a standalone entity longer term that is likely to be worth more," she wrote.
The analyst maintaned an "Equal Weight" rating and $31 price target on the stock.
Getty Images is set to report fourth-quarter earnings for 2007 on Jan. 31.
Every day people around the world see us on the front pages of newspapers and magazines, within multinational advertising campaigns, on the covers of best-selling books, in motion pictures and everywhere else images are used to tell a story.
"The power of imagery to create change"
Bain Capital,founded by Mitt Romney, already bought Clear Channel and now they are looking to buy Getty Images. Getty is the largest provider of photos for the media. If Bain is successful in their bid to buy Getty, they will be able to determine what images of the candidates are available to the press. There seems to be a pattern developing here....
Yeah and Dominos will only deliver their pizzas to Romney supporters.
I think that I have heard Mrs. C's voice on the radio news more lately than I have that of President Bush, which is seldom heard.
Romney left Bain 10 years ago.
Are you gonna start moaning about Dick Cheney and Halliburton, next?
Why is it so hard for you people to understand that Romney isn’t at Bain anymore? Are you really that dense? Even Duncan Hunter bought it, which just blows my mind.
Romney is to Bain as Cheney is to Haliburton. I was suprised as well when Hunter got on Mitt for a company he left over 10 years ago.
Romney is not part of Bain anymore. There does seem to be a patter, republicans/conservatives taking on the Cheney/Halliburton “logic” of the left.
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