Adobe to Acquire Fotolia: Adds Stock Content Marketplace to Creative Cloud
Adobe today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Fotolia, a leading marketplace for royalty-free photos, images, graphics and HD video, for approximately $800 million in cash. Fotolia will be integrated into Adobe Creative Cloud, providing current and future Creative Cloud members with the ability to access and purchase over 34 million images and videos, significantly simplifying and accelerating the design process. The acquisition of Fotolia cements Creative Cloud’s role as a vibrant marketplace for creatives to buy and sell assets and services as well as showcase their talent to a worldwide audience. Adobe also plans to continue to operate Fotolia as a standalone stock service, accessible to anyone.
“The acquisition of Fotolia will reinforce Creative Cloud’s role as the preeminent destination for creatives,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president, Digital Media, Adobe. “Creative Cloud is becoming the go-to marketplace for the creative community to access images, videos, fonts and creative talent, through critical creative services like Fotolia and our new Creative Talent Search capabilities.”
With over 3.4 million members, Adobe Creative Cloud features the world’s leading desktop tools, an array of complementary mobile apps, training content, creative assets and services and ready access to a dynamic community. Creative Cloud is transforming how creatives find inspiration and deliver their best work — and the value of Creative Cloud is increasing all the time through product updates and new capabilities like Creative Talent Search. Following the completion of the acquisition, Adobe expects to integrate the delivery and purchase of stock assets into Creative Cloud.
“Becoming part of the Adobe family is a dream come true for the Fotolia team and will accelerate our vision to become the best place for artists to build a business and the ultimate destination for designers to find stunning creative work,” said Oleg Tscheltzoff, founder and CEO of Fotolia.
Founded in 2004, with offices in New York, Paris and Berlin, privately-held Fotolia is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., TA Associates and management. Fotolia currently operates in 23 countries and has websites in 14 languages.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of Adobe’s fiscal Q1 2015, is subject to certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The potential financial impact to Adobe of this transaction is not reflected in financial targets Adobe has previously provided, or new targets disclosed as part of Adobe’s financial results, released on December 11, 2014. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently. Upon close Fotolia CEO, Oleg Tscheltzoff, will continue to lead the Fotolia team as part of Adobe’s Digital Media business.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
