Getty Images, the largest distributor of stock photos, video and other digital content, is to go private after its board accepted a $2.4bn buy-out from Hellman & Friedman, the private equity firm.

Under the terms of the deal, Getty shareholders will receive $34 in cash for each outstanding share – a 55 per cent premium to where Getty was trading before it announced last month that it was exploring a possible sale. The offer remains below the $95 level that the company’s shares reached in December 2005.