Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Ancestry.com selling 75% interest to Blackstone for $4.7 billion


Ancestry.com is selling a 75% interest in the company to Blackstone Group. Inc. Quoting from Reuters.com dated August 5, 2020, in an article entitled "Blackstone to acquire Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion;"
The deal is Blackstone’s first acquisition out of Blackstone Capital Partners VIII, the largest-ever private equity fund that raised $26 billion from investors last year. ... The acquisition’s price tag represents a significant jump to Ancestry.com’s valuation from four years ago, when Silver Lake and GIC invested in the Lehi, Utah-based company at a $2.6 billion valuation. 
 In another article  entitled, "Blackstone Group is Buying Ancestry for $4.7B," Barrons.com added further details as follows:
Blackstone (ticker: BX) said Wednesday it was buying Ancestry in a deal valued at $4.7 billion. Blackstone will have roughly 75% of Ancestry, while GIC—the sovereign-wealth fund once known as the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.—will have 25%, Barron’s has learned. Bank of America (BAC) and Credit Suisse are providing debt financing.
 In many of the online articles about this deal, Ancestry.com is characterized as follows, quoting from the Barrons.com article,
Ancestry uses information found in historical records and family trees to help its more than 3 million subscribers discover their family history. The company also uses DNA tests to give users more data about their family tree and recent genetic ethnicity. The Lehi, Utah, company operates in more than 30 countries. It produces over $1 billion in annual revenue.
As genealogists, many of us are involved with searching for records, maintaining a family tree, and relying on DNA date supplied by Ancestry.  

No comments:

Post a Comment