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Ancestry.com sold for USD1.6bn

Monday, October 22 14:34:51

U.S. genealogy website Ancestry.com said it will be acquired by a group led by European private equity firm Permira in a $1.6 billion deal.

Ancestry earlier this year said it was setting up its international headquarters in Dublin with the creation of 35 new jobs.

The company, whose website helps users trace their family roots, will be taken private at $32 per share, a 10 percent premium to the stock's Friday closing price of $29.18.

Ancestry was seeking more than $35 per share sources familiar with the matter had previously told Reuters.

The buyout group also includes the private equity firm's co-investors, members of Ancestry.com's management, including Chief Executive Tim Sullivan and Chief Financial Officer Howard Hochhauser, and Spectrum Equity, which owns about 30 percent of Ancestry.com.

The deal was Permira's fourth in the United States in the last 12 months.

Ancestry.com hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners in June to find buyers.

Sources earlier this month said Permira had emerged as the front-runner to buy Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com, which sponsored the U.S. version of the popular British series "Who Do You Think You Are?," suffered a blow in May when NBC decided not to renew the show for a fourth season.

The show, built around tracing celebrities' family histories through Ancestry.com's databases, was a major driver of new subscriber additions for the company's website. (C ) Reuters