Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP will form a partnership with the management of Getty Images to buy Getty Images Inc from Hellman & Friedman for $3.3 billion, the companies said on Wednesday.

Carlyle will take a controlling stake in Getty, a distributor of photos, video and multimedia products.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Carlyle was nearing an agreement to purchase Getty.

Mark Getty, Getty Images' chairman, and the Getty family will put nearly all their ownership interests into the deal as well, and CEO Jonathan Klein will also participate in the deal.

Founded in 1995 by Mark Getty and Klein, Getty has had to adapt to a shift in the media industry to online from print, as demand for images grows in an environment where prices for online use are lower than for print use.

Carlyle has prevailed over other private equity bidders, including CVC Capital Partners Ltd, according to sources.

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