Ancestry.com reportedly agrees to $1.6 billion buyout
Genealogy website Ancestry.com Inc has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by European private-equity firm Permira for about $1.6 billion, or $32 a share, according to people familiar with the deal.
The buyout is a bet that family-history research is more than a niche market and that the subscriber base can swell with technological innovations, deeper archives and a wider international audience. People familiar with the buyers’ plans said that expansion in western Europe is a goal.
The $1.6 billion value of the deal accounts for vesting of outstanding options, the people said. The $32-a-share price represents a premium of about 40% from where the stock was trading in June before reports the company was on the block.
Several bidders looked at the company in an auction process, and trading this summer suggested the market expected a higher price. Shares hit a 52-week high of $33.47 on July 31 and traded above $32 for the next 2½ weeks. Friday, they closed down 1.7% at $29.18 but gained 2%, or 60 cents, in after-hours trading.
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