Ancestry.com: SOLD
October 21, 2012 by ramona
Filed under Articles, Latest News
Thank You Ancestry.com for the countless Family Trees that have been built due to the access you have provided.
Thank you for the Census, Passenger lists and military records: not to mention the numerous collections and genealogical documents dating back to the 13th century.
Ancestry.com has been providing service to genealogists around the world for the past 15 years. Starting out in the 1980’s as Ancestry Inc: back at the beginning of online research when family history hunters had to use snail mail and visit dusty old libraries and archives.
Since that time, the company has grown to more than 2 million online subscribers.
However, as the saying goes…all good things must end…and October marks the end of an era for the genealogy giant.
This week Ancestry.com will pass the hat on to private equity firm Permira, who purchased the company for $1.6 billion. Ancestry’s new owners report that there are big plans in store for the company. Spokesman and partner for Permira, Brian Ruder stated, “With its pioneering technology and market leading position, Ancestry.com is an exciting investment opportunity for the Permira funds,” adding, “We are thrilled to be able to back the company as it continues to develop new and innovative content, and expand in both its core markets and into new geographies.”
At sale date the company employed 850 people in 10 offices across the US, Britain, Italy and Germany.
Ending on a positive note, Tim Sullivan a chief executive of Ancestry.com remarked, “This is a successful outcome for our public stockholders, and a great day for Ancestry.com employees and subscribers around the world.”
It’s like losing an old friend. I hope the transition goes smoothly and the new owners are as customer friendly as you were. CONGRATS (I guess)
Subscriber since 1999.
Hi Linda
The sale of Ancestry.com has sparked some pretty strong reactions and I think many feel that they are saying goodbye to an old friend. Genealogy Beginner looks forward with positive thoughts and wishes the new owners the best of luck. That said, Genealogy Beginner would like to clarify that we are not now, nor have we ever been owners of Ancestry.com.
But we really do appreciate your support and gracious thoughts.
Thank you
I am a subscriber to Ancestry.com still, I havent seen anything that has changed. what has changed? Please tell me?
Right now the only changes are behind the scenes; the site has changed ownership, and now belongs to a European private equity firm (basically, a company that serves to invest in and spin more money out of existing things). The deal is expected to finalize early next year. At the moment they have announced no changes to their operating structure — meaning the same people will have the same jobs after the sale.
As for what changes the change of ownership, and the different priorities of the new owners, may mean for the user experience, that issue has yet to be clarified. Looking at similar buyouts in the online sphere over the last decade or so, visible changes tend to be slow and subtle. It’s probably not worth being concerned about in the short term.
Hi: I am concerned. Where is my family tree with all the research I have put into it in Ancestry.com? Please advise me how I can salvage my family tree information (do I need to switch to another site?) Please Help!
Unless you are experiencing a specific issue with your Ancestry.com account, everything should be fine. The site has changed ownership, but any effect on the site’s operation will be slow — if indeed the politics have any effect at all. Your tree and your research should be perfectly safe for years to come.
If you want to export your Ancestry.com data for use with other software, you can do so by going to your family tree, then Tree Pages -> Tree Settings -> Export Tree.
You will be able to save your work in GEDCOM format, which is the de facto standard for genealogy software.
I know this kind of upheaval can be unsettling. If you have any further concerns, Jan, you can contact Ancestry.com at 1-800-262-3787 or this link here: http://ancestry.custhelp.com/app/ask
Or if you want to contact us directly, you can write to admin@genealogybeginner.com.
I hope this helps you, Jan!