Jupiter Images for sale?

by Jon Mitchell

A curious report in Business Week recently said shares in Getty Images and Jupitermedia Corporation rallied in late February due to a New York Post report which - citing anonymous sources - said Getty may bid US$450m to buy Jupitermedia.

An analyst for Goldman Sachs, Peter Appert, told Business Week that the deal made sense for Getty Images, as it would increase it's content and eliminate a major competitor.

"We believe a transaction could make financial and strategic sense at the reported valuation," Appert told the weekly. "While antitrust issues could be an obstacle, we believe the stock photography market is sufficiently large and fragmented that Getty would likely be able to acquire Jupitermedia." he added.