Under the terms of the agreement, the combined company will retain the Getty Images name and continue trading under the NYSE ticker symbol "GETY." Craig Peters, current CEO of Getty Images, will lead the merged entity, while Shutterstock's CEO Paul Hennessy will join the eleven-member Board of Directors.

Shares of Getty Images Holdings, Inc. ($GETY) and its New York-based rival Shutterstock, Inc. ($SSTK) surged in Tuesday’s pre-market trading after the creative and editorial visual content solutions providers confirmed rumors of a potential combination.

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GETY) and Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) shares are trading higher premarket on Tuesday after the companies entered a deal to create a visual content company in a merger of equals.

Getty Images (GETY) and Shutterstock (SSTK) to merge in a $3.7 billion deal, creating a visual content powerhouse with enhanced product offerings

Getty Images and Shutterstock announced that the companies will merge and create a $3.7 billion 'premier visual content company.'

The two big players in the licensed visual content will pair up to counter threats from artificial intelligence tools like Midjourney.

Getty Images said on Tuesday it would merge with rival Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion stock-image powerhouse geared for the artificial intelligence era, in a deal likely to draw antitrust scrutiny.

The companies claim the merged company will 'be well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of creative, media, and advertising industries.' Will the new Trump admin let it fly?