Rex Features was founded in 1954 by Frank and Elizabeth Selby as a daily news and entertainment picture agency. Over the years, it represented the work of photographers such as Richard Young, SIPA Press, as well as the archives of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard newspapers.

Now, two years after the Selbys retired drm the company, Rex Features has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its assets to Getty.

"Celebrity and entertainment content is a growing and vital part of the editorial imagery industry and this acquisition positions us to meet and exceed the demand for nearly instantaneous material," says Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images, in a statement. "Growing our entertainment imagery business continues to be a key strategic focus. The real winners will be our customers, who can now expect to see greater choice and more easily accessible imagery."

Getty has announced that it would retain the Rex Features brand, while combining the agency's resources with the giant stock agency. It adds that "Getty Images' global distribution channels will increase international customers' access to Rex Features' products and services."

Klein adds: "Over more than five decades, Rex Features has built a strong heritage and reputation that Getty Images will build upon to the benefit of customers worldwide. Getty Images has always been dedicated to making strategic investments that will provide long-term value to our customers."

In the past months, Rex Features has been caught in privacy and copyright cases, with Kate Middleton suing the agency in January for photographs taken during her Christmas holidays. Rex Features settled out of court.

Last year, Rex Features found itself at the center of a controversy when the publisher of the Evening Standard, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday started syndicating its images archive through the agency without the consent of freelance photographers. Read our report here.