Melbourne-born graphic design marketplace Envato will be acquired by Shutterstock in a deal worth $372 million, marking one of the most significant exits for a local scale-up to date.
Envato, founded by husband-and-wife duo Collis and Cyan Ta’eed, and their friend Jun Rung in 2006, on Friday announced its planned sale to the American stock image and editing platform.
In a statement, Collis Ta’eed, who formally stepped down as CEO in 2020, said the sale proves the value and dynamism of Australia’s tech ecosystem.
“Over the years, we’ve been privileged to grow with this passionate community of creatives who have shown us the possibilities that arise at the intersection of technology and creativity,” he said.
“I am incredibly grateful for this and honored to have been part of the impact and success of this creative community.”
Shutterstock will incorporate Envato to build on its own product offerings, while also deepening its reach among creatives, said the company’s CEO Paul Hennessy.
“This acquisition will pave the way for our expansion into new products, audiences and content types,” he said.
“It also will propel us further into the dynamic Asia Pacific region, making a significant step toward achieving our future growth plans.
Shutterstock expects to more than double its subscriber count through Envato’s customer base, which will jump by 650,000 to 1.15 million.
As part of the sale, Shutterstock will also take ownership of Envato’s existing catalogue of 10 million images, and half a million templates, along with its catalogue of videos, audio clips, and fonts.
The platform also highlighted Envato’s cache of slideshow themes, social media post mock-ups, and print-on-demand services, taking aim at Australia’s other great graphic design success story Canva.
Launched in 2006, Envato emerged as a bootstrapped and quickly profitable startup catering to the growing digital design market.
Its marketplaces like ThemeForest, CodeCanyon, Videohive and GraphicRiver allowed independent merchants to offer their designs and code to global buyers.
In 2014, the scale-up declared a turnover in excess of $50 million, and in the 2017 financial year, booked $115.5 million in revenue.
Cyan Ta’eed stepped down from the company in 2018 to launch her own venture, the ethical chocolate brand Hey Tiger, which has since relaunched under new ownership.
Collis himself stepped down from the CEO role in 2020, allowing Hachime Assi to enter the role, where he remains.
At the time, Envato also dished out $3.75 million to employees through its profit-sharing scheme, resulting in payments of around $6,000 for its 600 staff.
External valuations suggested Envato was worth in the vicinity of $1 billion, before the post-pandemic devaluation of many tech startups.
That broad volatility also saw Envato lose around 100 staff through a restructuring process in 2022.
“We believe a renewed and sharpened business focus will ensure we continue on our long-term growth trajectory”, Assi said at the time.
He will now lead the reshaped Envato team as it integrates with Shutterstock.
“I’m excited and optimistic for Envato’s future as Hichame and the team enter this new chapter,” Collis Ta’eed said.
“And I am eager to witness how it continues to shape and empower the creative community worldwide.”
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Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
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