Blackstone Group Inc (BX.N) agreed to acquire genealogy provider Ancestry.com Inc from private equity rivals for $4.7 billion, on Wednesday.
Blackstone is buying Ancestry.com from private equity firms Silver Lake, Spectrum Equity and Permira. There has been a significant increase in Ancestry.com’s value in the last four years compared to when Silver Lake and GIC invested in the company at a $2.6 billion valuation.
Ancestry.com is currently the world’s largest provider of DNA services. Customers are both able to trace their genealogy, as well as identify genetic health risks from tests mailed to their homes. The site has more than 3 million paying customers from approximately 30 different countries, and it earns more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
“We believe Ancestry has significant runway for further growth as people of all ages and backgrounds become increasingly interested in learning more about their family histories and themselves,” David Kestenbaum, a Blackstone senior managing director, said in a statement.
Blackstone says that due to more consumers staying at home amid the current pandemic, they hope more people will turn to Ancestry.com.
Now, Blackstone’s 75% stake in the genealogy site will join a long list of commercial and residential properties owned by the equity firm, including Bellagio in Las Vegas and Motel 6, which agreed to pay over $19 million in two different settlements, for giving its guests’ personal information to ICE without their knowledge.
