PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Shutterfly
Includes Shutterfly.com, Lifetouch, Snapfish
tech · San Jose, CA
- PE Firm
- Apollo Global Management →
- Year Acquired
- 2019
Apollo took the place where you print your family photos private.
What They Did
- Apollo took Shutterfly private for $2.7 billion in 2019, delisting it from NASDAQ
- Closed its Shakopee, Minnesota manufacturing facility and laid off all ~250 workers — the jobs went, the debt stayed
Since the Acquisition
- The lawsuit said customers were paying 'sale' prices that were actually the regular price, the discount was always an illusion. Shutterfly denied wrongdoing and settled with store-credit vouchers
- Shutterfly deleted stored photos for customers who hadn't made a purchase in 18 months — announced in early 2023 with a deadline so abrupt that public backlash forced the company to push it to May 2023. Years of family memories, held hostage to a purchase requirement
Sources
- Shutterfly will close its Shakopee warehouse, lay off nearly 250 workers — Star Tribune(2023-08-01)
- Shutterfly Lures Consumers With Fake Discounts, Lawsuit Alleges — Bloomberg Law(2022-04-18)
- Shutterfly Will Start Deleting Photos From Inactive Accounts — NBC Bay Area(2023-03-14)
- Shutterfly strikes take-private deal with Apollo Global, valuing company at $2.7 billion — CNBC(2019-06-10)
- General Atlantic Leads $2 Billion Shutterfly Private Credit Deal - Bloomberg Law(2025-10-30)
- 'Sham Markdowns': Lawsuit Alleges Shutterfly Advertises Products at False Discount Prices — ClassAction.org(2022-01-01)
- Shutterfly to close Shakopee manufacturing plant, lay off 246 employees — CBS Minnesota(2023-08-11)
- General Atlantic plans $2bn debt deal with Shutterfly — Private Equity Wire(2025-10-30)