Silver Lake And GIC Acquire Equity In Ancestry

Silver Lake’s and GIC’s investments constitute a vote of confidence in our future, an affirmation of the work we have done to build our company and, most importantly, a validation of the tremendous opportunities we see ahead.

Provo-based Ancestry is widely regarded as the leader in online family history data, with over 17 billion digitized historical records, 78 million family trees, and 1.5 million DNA samples available to its 2+ million paying subscribers. It’s numbers like these that have led to investments from Silver Lake and GIC as both have signed agreements to purchase substantial equity in Ancestry from existing equity holders.

“Silver Lake’s and GIC’s investments constitute a vote of confidence in our future, an affirmation of the work we have done to build our company and, most importantly, a validation of the tremendous opportunities we see ahead,” Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry, said in a statement. “Silver Lake’s track record for successful technology investing at scale, coupled with its exceptional operational expertise, fits closely with our vision for accelerating growth across our entire business as we help people around the world learn more about who they are and where they come from.”

Silver Lake and GIC stand alongside the Permira Funds, Spectrum Equity, and Ancestry management as investors in Ancestry, now valued at $2.6 billion.

“Ancestry’s world-class management team has built a market-leading platform that continues to define and pioneer the market for self-discovery,” said Mike Bingle, Managing Partner at Silver Lake. “We believe Ancestry’s subscription businesses are well positioned to deliver further attractive and profitable growth.”

Published 4/6/2016