Visual content developers and entertainment and media investors were elated when Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) and Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) announced that they were merging. This $3.7 billion deal will combine two of the biggest names in stock photography,

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.