Carlyle in Deal to Buy Getty Images

Redferns / Getty Images

Getty Images distributes stock photographs, video footage and digital images. Above, a vintage Beatles photo.

Private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP CG -0.20%and Getty Images management said Wednesday they have formed a partnership to acquire stock-photo agency Getty Images Inc. from buyout firm Hellman & Friedman for $3.3 billion.

Carlyle will acquire a controlling stake in Getty Images, while Getty's co-founder and chairman, Mark Getty, and the Getty family will roll substantially all of their ownership interests into the transaction. Getty Images management, including co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein, will also invest significant equity in the company, they said in a statement.

The Seattle-based photo agency distributes stock photographs, video footage and digital images to media and other organizations around the world.
Hellman & Friedman took Getty private in 2008 in a leveraged buyout that valued the company at $2.4 billion. A group of investors including the chairman, Mr. Getty, owns a minority stake in the company.
A number of private-equity firms showed interest in buying the company when the bidding process got under way earlier this year.
Carlyle, traditionally one of the most active deal makers in private-equity, has been particularly busy lately. The Washington-based firm invested in 82 transactions in the second quarter and has committed to several other big deals including agreeing to buy a United Technologies Corp. UTX +0.40%unit for $3.5 billion. It is also negotiating to buy DuPont Co.'s DD -0.18%auto paint business after emerging from a widely watched auction with a $4.8 billion bid, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@wsj.com and Ryan Dezember at ryan.dezember@dowjones.com

Source: http://online.wsj.com