Getty Images could fetch more than $1.5 billion: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Getty Images Inc GYI.N, the world's biggest supplier of pictures and video to media and advertising companies, has put itself on the auction block and could fetch more than $1.5 billion, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The firm hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N) to advise it on a potential sale, according to the report, which cited people briefed on the situation.

The company has attracted interest from several buyers, mostly private equity firms, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital and others, and final bids are due by the end of the month, the Times said.

"We are a publicly traded company and cannot comment on rumor and speculation," Getty spokeswoman Bridget Russel said. KKR and Bain could not immediately be reached for comment.

Getty Images, whose shares closed at $21.94 on Friday, has a market capitalization of about $1.3 billion, according to Reuters data.

Its competitors include privately-held Corbis -- controlled by Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O) Bill Gates -- and Jupitermedia Corp JUPM.O. In March 2007, Jupiter Media and Getty ended talks toward a deal in which Getty would have paid $9.60 per share for Jupitermedia.

Jupitermedia's shares closed at $2.98 on Friday.

Getty Images is set to report fourth-quarter results on Jan 31.

(Reporting by Nick Zieminski; Editing by Derek Caney)