Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Private Equity Firm to Buy Utah’s Ancestry.com for $1.6B

In a cash deal valued at $1.6 billion, Ancestry.com has agreed to sell a controlling stake in the Provo-based genealogy website to a group led by European private equity firm Permira Funds.

CEO Tim Sullivan would not say exactly how long the deal had been in the works or how much of Ancestry Permira will acquire when the deal closes early next year. Those kinds of details will come out later, he said.

Sullivan said Ancestry anticipates no changes in its operating structure with the deal. The company will stay in Provo, where the company has about 700 employees, and it will continue to focus on beefing up content and technology, as well as expanding product offerings in areas such as DNA that improve the experience of more than 2 million subscribers. Longer term, Permira’s presence in Ancestry will make it possible to accelerate some investments in the company that Ancestry hopes to make, Sullivan said. Salt Lake Tribune