Thank you, Doris, for posting this fact-based information. Lynn Wesson -----Original Message----- >From: Doris Christian <dmkchristian@austin.rr.com> >Sent: Mar 12, 2008 10:49 AM >To: nclincol@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [NCLINCOL] Church of Latter-day Saints and Ancestry.com > >Press Releases ><< [Back to Press Releases] > >The Generations Network, Parent Company of Ancestry.com, to be >Acquired by Spectrum Equity Investors >Investment Will Support and Accelerate Company's Strategic Direction >and Growth Plan >PRNewswire >PROVO, Utah > >PROVO, Utah, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Generations Network, Inc., >today announced that Spectrum Equity Investors will lead an investment >of $300 million to purchase a majority interest in the company. >Spectrum, a private equity firm based in Menlo Park and Boston, has >been a shareholder in The Generations Network since 2003. Following >the transaction, Vic Parker and Ben Spero from Spectrum will serve on >the company's new board of directors, along with Tim Sullivan, >President and CEO of The Generations Network. Additional terms of the >transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to >customary regulatory and closing conditions and is expected to close >in 2007. > >The Generations Network's portfolio of sites and products includes >Ancestry.com and seven international Ancestry sites, myfamily.com, >Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com, Family Tree Maker® and Ancestry Magazine. >The company's current management team will continue to lead the company. > >"As an investor in The Generations Network for the past four years, we >have watched the company revolutionize the family history category by >leveraging the power of the Internet to make it more accessible and >easy for anyone," said Vic Parker, Managing Partner, Spectrum Equity >Investors. "Ancestry.com and myfamily.com are clear category leaders >in the growing and rapidly evolving family history and family >networking markets. We are excited to partner with The Generations >Network management team to continue growing this truly unique company >that has the power to impact users at a very personal and emotional >level." > >The Generations Network properties have more than 900,000 paying >subscribers and receive 8.2 million worldwide unique visitors per >month (© comScore Media Metrix, August 2007). In the last 18 months, >the company has solidified its position as one of the largest and most >profitable subscription businesses online with success in several areas: > > * Ancestry.com is the world's leading online family history >resource, > with more than 5 billion names from historical records, >unmatched and > proprietary search technologies and an engaged and passionate >community > of more than 2.5 million active members. > > * A redesigned Ancestry.com experience has transformed an online >research > tool into a platform for aggregating the world's family history > memories. Since late July 2006, more than 3.8 million family >trees have > been created on Ancestry.com, over 330 million names added to >Ancestry > Family Trees™, and more than 3.5 million individual photos, >stories, > or scanned documents have been uploaded by members. > > * Ancestry.com now boasts the only completely indexed online U.S. >Federal > Census Collection (1790-1930), the most comprehensive online > compilation of U.S. ship passenger lists (1820-1960), the largest > online collection of African American historical documents and >the most > comprehensive online collection of U.S. military records. > > * Beyond the United States, the Ancestry global network now includes > local country sites for the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, >Germany, > Italy, France and Sweden. > > * The recent launch of DNA.ancestry.com™ now extends the Ancestry > service into the rapidly growing field of genetic genealogy. > > * AncestryPress™, a digital publishing platform integrated into > Ancestry.com, now gives every family the ability to create >completely > unique, professionally printed family history books. > > * Family Tree Maker® 2008, the No. 1-selling family history software > package, is now available online and in major retail stores >throughout > North America and Europe. > > * The redesigned myfamily.com site now has new features, providing > families everywhere a safe, private, and free family home on the >Web. >"Spectrum Equity has been an incredibly supportive and strategic- >minded investor in our company for several years, so I am thrilled to >have them acquire this majority interest in The Generations Network," >said Tim Sullivan, company President and CEO. "2007 has been the >company's most successful and profitable year to date, and 2008 looks >even more promising as we grow our core businesses further, expand our >global presence, and innovate with new products and services that help >us realize our mission to connect families across distance and time. I >appreciate Spectrum's vote of confidence in our direction and vision, >and I am excited to work even more closely with Vic Parker and Ben >Spero to continue to transform this amazing and unique business into a >truly great company." > >Lehman Brothers acted as financial advisor to The Generations Network, >Inc. in the transaction. > >About The Generations Network, Inc. > >The Generations Network, Inc., founded in 1983, is the leading online >network connecting families across distance and time. The Generations >Network, Inc. provides people the content, community, and technology >to empower them to find the people most important to them -- and >discover and share their unique family stories. The Generations >Network operates eight Ancestry websites, including http://www.ancestry.com/ > (United States), http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ (United Kingdom),http://www.ancestry.ca/ > (Canada), http://www.ancestry.com.au/ (Australia), http://www.ancestry.de/(Germany) >, http://www.ancestry.it/ (Italy), http://www.ancestry.fr/ (France), >andhttp://www.ancestry.se/ (Sweden) as well as http:// >www.myfamily.com/, http://www.genealogy.com/, and http://www.rootsweb.com/ >. The company also publishes Family Tree Maker®, the No. 1-selling >family history software, Ancestry Magazine and more than 50 book >titles. For more information, visit http://www.thegenerationsnetwork.com/ >. > >About Spectrum Equity Investors > >Spectrum Equity Investors is a private equity firm focused on >investing in profitable, growing services businesses. Founded in 1994 >with offices in Menlo Park and Boston, Spectrum manages over $4 >billion in capital across five funds. The firm's investment team has >deep experience in information services and online media, including >investments in Demand Media, Interbank FX, iPay Technologies, >NetQuote, Mortgagebot, RiskMetrics Group, Seisint (acquired by Reed >Elsevier PLC.) and WorldCheck. For more information, visit http://www.spectrumequity.com/ >. > >SOURCE: The Generations Network, Inc. > >CONTACT: Julia Burgon, +1-212-221-1616, ext. 124, >julia_burgon@coltrin.com, or Tola St. Matthew-Daniel, +1-212-221-1616, >ext. 101, tola@coltrin.com, both of Coltrin & Associates, for >Ancestry.com > >Web site: http://www.thegenerationsnetwork.com/ >http://www.ancestry.com/ > >On Mar 11, 2008, at 9:40 PM, Mbmackie1231@aol.com wrote: > >> I had never considered the startling possibility that the Church of >> Latter-day Saints owns the corporation The Generation Network (parent >> company of Ancestry.com). >> >> It just seems probable owing to the facts that the LDS are so >> interested in >> all our past lives and religions, etc. >> >> >> In a message dated 3/11/2008 8:55:48 P.M. Central Daylight Time, >> sully1@carolina.rr.com writes: >> >> Brownie MacKie wrote: >>> [snipped] ...don't you think that the LDS *owns *Ancestry.com and >>> all its >> subsidiaries? If not, please tell me! Thanks. >>> >>> Brownie >> Hi Brownie, >> >> Wow. I had never considered the startling possibility that the >> Church of >> Latter-day Saints owns the corporation The Generation Network (parent >> company of Ancestry.com). Is there some information available about >> the >> LDS ownership of TGN? Brownie, please share your resources for this. >> It >> would be very useful to learn more about any connections between the >> two >> organizations. >> >> Thanks! >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >> the quotes in the subject and >> the body of the message >> >> >> >> >> >> **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL >> Money & >> Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001) >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com >> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and >> the body of the message > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NCLINCOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Lynn Wesson