SmugMug to acquire image and video hosting site Flickr from Verizon

SmugMug acquisition of Flickr : Photo management platform SmugMug has agreed to acquire online image and video hosting website Flickr from Verizon for an undisclosed price.

The transaction will combine the deep industry expertise and robust digital tools of SmugMug with the tens of millions of global photographer community of Flickr.

Launched in 2002 by Chris MacAskill and Don MacAskill, the California-based SmugMug is a premium photo-sharing website and image hosting service provider. On SmugMug, users can upload their HD photos and videos to their SmugMug sites and through a toolset offered by it can earn money by selling them to digital and print media.

On the other hand, Flickr enables its community of hobby, amateur and professional photographers to organize, share and store their photos on its social media platform.

SmugMug acquisition of Flickr. Photo courtesy of Yahoo, Inc.

Commenting on SmugMug acquisition of Flickr, Don MacAskill – CEO of SmugMug, said: “Since day one our passion has been empowering photographers to tell the stories they want to tell, the way they want to tell them, and our investment in Flickr reaffirms this commitment.

“Uniting the SmugMug and Flickr brands will make the whole photography community stronger and better connected. The enduring quality of photography is so much more than clicks and likes—photography has the power to change the world. Together, we can preserve photography as the global language of storytelling.”

Created by Ludicorp in 2004, Flickr was acquired by Yahoo in March 2005. As we know, Verizon acquired Yahoo in $4.48 billion in June 2017 to own Flickr and other web assets.

Andrew Stadlen of Flickr, commenting on SmugMug acquisition of Flickr, said: “We share SmugMug’s mission to cater to people—professionals, amateurs, and everybody in between— who invest time, energy and love into their photos.

“We look forward to becoming part of the SmugMug family and continue to grow, innovate and delight our global community of photographers.”

Following the completion of SmugMug acquisition of Flickr, both the brands will continue to work as separate entities.