New York, February 19th, 2025 | Drake Star was awarded Cross Border M&A Deal of the Year (mid-markets) at the recent 16th Annual Americas M&A Atlas Awards by The Global M&A Network for advising Envato on its sale to Shutterstock. The award further extends Drake Star’s leadership position in the Digital Media and Digital Content Platform M&A space. The award ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Club, New York on February 6, 2025.
Eric Ward, Managing Partner at Drake Star, said: "Receiving this award is another testament to the success of this transaction. First and foremost, I want to congratulate the founders of Envato and its management team, who were absolutely faultless throughout this process and a real pleasure to work with. Huge credit to Shutterstock for their pragmatism and ability to deliver this transaction in record time, particularly as this marked the largest acquisition in their history. This is truly an outstanding deal and I'm proud that it was awarded Cross Border M&A Deal of the Year."
Gregory Bedrosian, Drake Star CEO, commented: "We are very honored to win this prestigious Cross Border Deal of the Year award from The Global M&A network. The combination of Shutterstock and Envato is a landmark transaction and we are very pleased to see it being recognized in the market. Congratulations to the Drake Star, Envato, and Shutterstock teams in achieving this great outcome. At Drake Star we pride ourselves on delivering superior outcomes to our clients and this award further reinforces our industry-leading position in Tech & Digital Media M&A."
Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), is a leading global creative platform offering high-quality creative content for transformative brands, digital media and marketing companies. Envato Pty Ltd. (“Envato”), is a leader in digital creative assets and templates. Envato’s flagship product, Elements, is a creative subscription providing unlimited downloads to a broad range of assets, templates and more—an intelligent creative companion helping creatives make their mark globally.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Australia with a presence in Mexico and New Zealand, Envato enables millions of people around the world to buy and sell creative assets, use smart design templates and learn creative skills. Through its combination of extensive breadth of asset types and a deep library, a compelling value proposition and quality artistry, Envato helps creatives get projects done faster and more effectively.
For more information, read the full deal announcement.
For important disclosures about the awards, please head over to: globalmanetwork.com.
About Drake Star
Drake Star is an award-winning global tech investment bank that has completed over 500 transactions since 2003. The Drake Star global team of experienced professionals and senior advisors across offices in New York, Munich, London, Paris, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, and Dubai* focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services worldwide in Software/SaaS, HR Tech, Digital Services, FinTech, Digital Media, Industrial Tech, Consumer & Retail Tech and Mobility & Sustainability.
Drake Star is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through Drake Star Securities LLC. In the USA, Drake Star Securities LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. Drake Star UK Limited (FRN 942020) is an appointed representative of Razlin Ltd (FRN 730805), which is authorized and regulated by the FCA. © 2025 Drake Star Partners Limited.
*Partner Office