Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock for USD 53 million.

Shutterstock announced that it will purchase Giphy from Meta Platforms for $53 million, completing the unwinding of a transaction that had been delayed by British authorities due to competition concerns.

Giphy boasts 1.7 billion daily users and partners including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Twitter, according to the stock picture site.

Shutterstock announced a partnership to allow Meta continuing access to New York-based Giphy's content across Meta's platforms.

Shutterstock CEO Paul Hennessy said in a statement that the purchase will improve the company's audience reach "beyond primarily professional marketing and advertising use cases" and "into casual conversations."

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom has banned Meta's acquisition of Giphy, a popular service for internet users who send messages or post on social media.

The U.K. The watchdog determined that Meta's acquisition of Giphy will harm social media users and advertisers by restricting competition for animated photos, increase traffic to Meta-owned sites, and eliminate possible competitors from the U.K.'s $7.9 billion display advertising market. Meta declined to elaborate, but acknowledged the U.K. judgment as the "final word on the matter"