GIC and Silver Lake invest in US genealogy company Ancestry

[SINGAPORE] GIC Pte, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and technology investor Silver Lake Management LLC will buy into Ancestry.com LLC, the US genealogy company said.

The investment values Provo Utah-based Ancestry at about US$2.6 billion, it said in a press release Friday. Current investor GIC and Silver Lake will hold equal minority ownership positions, according to the statement, which didn't provide the size of their stakes.

Ancestry, which provides data on family histories and runs a DNA-testing service, has more than 2.2 million paying subscribers, according to the press statement. Genealogy is the most popular hobby in America after gardening, USA Today reported in 2014.

The company's worth is based on its so-called enterprise value, according to the statement. The metric is the sum of market capitalization, preferred equity and interest-bearing debt, minus cash and equivalents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Other investors including Permira Holdings Ltd, Spectrum Equity Investors LP, Ancestry's President Tim Sullivan and chief operating officer Howard Hochhauser will remain as meaningful equity holders, Ancestry said in the statement.

BLOOMBERG