Getty Images, which is very actively looking for a buyer, is having no luck attracting bids that top its $1.6 billion market cap. According to The New York Times, private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital, and Providence Equity Partners have all expressed interest in the company, but none are willing to pony up more than $1.6 billion.

Getty announced late last month that its revenue for 2007 was up 6% over the previous year to $857.6 million and forecast 2008 revenue of approximately $900 million. But as the company explores "strategic alternatives," new, lower-cost competitors continue to enter the image market. For example, last fall saw the launch of PhotoShelter, an open but edited catalogue of images from professional and amateur photographers that are available for instant, online rights-managed or royalty-free purchase. Almost half a million images have already been submitted to PhotoShelter.

Elsewhere in business news, we got really excited about a tip that a company called DesignArt Networks has just closed on a round of venture funding. Turns out it's not really our kind of design or art. The company describes itself as a "fabless semiconductor company providing System-on-Chip solutions for the mobile WiMAX network infrastructure." Well, good luck with that!