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Blackstone To Acquire Ancestry.com For $4.7 Billion

By Chibuike Oguh

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group Inc <BX.N> said on Wednesday it agreed to acquire genealogy provider Ancestry.Com Inc from private equity rivals for $4.7 billion, including debt, placing a big bet on family-tree chasing as well as personalized medicine.

Ancestry.Com is the world's largest provider of DNA services, allowing customers to trace their genealogy and identify genetic health risks with tests sent to their home.

Blackstone is hoping that more consumers staying at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic will turn to Ancestry.Com for its services.

"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 Kestnbaum, a Blackstone senior managing director, said in a statement.

The deal is Blackstone's first acquisition out of Blackstone Capital Partners VIII, the largest-ever private equity fund that raised $26 billion from investors last year.

Ancestry.Com has more than 3 million paying customers in about 30 countries, and earns more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Launched in 1996 as a family history website, it harnessed advances in DNA testing and mobile phone apps in the following two decades to expand its offerings.

Blackstone is buying Ancestry.Com from private equity firms Silver Lake, Spectrum Equity and Permira. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, another Ancestry.Com investor, said it will continue to maintain a significant minority stake in the company.

The acquisition's price tag represents a significant jump to Ancestry.Com's valuation from four years ago, when Silver Lake and GIC invested in the Lehi, Utah-based company at a $2.6 billion valuation.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Eisen Blackstone Group

Carly Blackstone - License: Virginia 0810003993; Washington, D.C. DC1000796 Roberta Eisen - License: Washington, D.C. PRC13872 We are a mother-daughter counseling team based in Washington, D.C. We help families navigate the emotional and logistical challenges of family transitions. We are here to help you look at your conflict and help guide you and your family on a path forward.

Our services are tailored to each client so we can work together to reach the best possible outcomes. Services include mediation; parenting, family, and individual coaching and counseling; communication and empathy workshops; and collaborative divorce, a family-focused intervention specifically designed to meet the needs of your family.

At Eisen Blackstone Group, we know nothing is more important than family. But managing healthy relationships can be tricky, especially in the midst of a high-conflict situation, separation, or divorce. We are here to help your family transition in the smoothest way possible for everyone involved and get you on the best path forward.

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I see individuals, couples and families  

We are a Washington, D.C. Based counseling practice established by Roberta Eisen, M.Ed, LPC, NCC, and her daughter Dr. Carly Blackstone.

Blackstone Sees Great Future In Aesthetic Medicine; Apax And Fremman Take Palex Medical; One Rock Goes For Constantia

We open today with a deep dive into Blackstone's investment in Lazeo, provider of aesthetic medicine services, as I speak to senior managing partner Raphael de Botton to learn more about the deal.

Sticking with healthcare, we take a look at Apax and Fremman's joint acquisition of medtech company Palex Medical.

We'll finish up with a deal by One Rock Capital Partners, as the firm has entered an agreement to acquire Constantia Flexibles, a packaging manufacturer, from Wendel.

Mirror, mirror

The pandemic affected industries very differently, but one I hadn't considered was aesthetic medicine. I recently caught up with Blackstone's senior managing partner Raphael de Botton about the firm's investment in Lazeo; a founder-led, family-owned provider of non-invasive aesthetic medicine services such as laser hair removal, injectables, body contouring and medical-grade facials.

Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities announced an investment in Lazeo in July.

"There's a bit of a 'Zoom effect' – people are seeing their face in the mirror a lot more, and therefore looking for ways to improve the way they look," de Botton told me. "However, they don't want to go into anything intrusive, so the non-invasive medicine [sector] has a great future."

The market is underpenetrated considering the amount of people using the services, according to de Botton. Blackstone had never invested in the laser hair removal sector, but the firm is not stepping completely into the unknown either. In 2020, it acquired a majority stake in ZO Skin Health, an Irvine, California-based skincare brand. At the end of 2021, Blackstone Growth agreed to make a majority investment in Supergoop!, a skincare brand focused on sunscreens.

To learn more about the 'Zoom effect' and Blackstone's growth plans for Lazeo, you can read my story here.

Healthy deal

Let's stay within healthcare deals a little longer. Apax Partners LLP and Fremman Capital have reached a definitive agreement to jointly acquire co-controlling stakes in Palex Medical, an independent medtech services provider in Southern Europe.

The deal values Palex at around €1 billion, sources with knowledge on the deal told Reuters.

Palex is based in Barcelona. The company focuses on the marketing, sales and logistics of medtech equipment for public and private hospitals and laboratories in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

The selling shareholders are funds advised by Fremman, the current majority shareholder, and other minority shareholders. Fremman first invested in Palex in December 2021.

Apax and Fremman will partner with Palex's management team to help drive future value creation and pursue international growth, according to a release.

"We have long identified the healthcare distribution sector as an ideal intersection between Apax's deep expertise in MedTech and strong track record of investment in distribution-focused businesses," said Frank Ehmer, partner, Apax. "Palex has consistently outperformed over decades, with an unrivalled reputation and offering, and we look forward to building on this success to date, leveraging our experience and insights to help the team accelerate growth and execute on our joint vision for the future."

Package deal

Stepping away from healthcare, One Rock Capital Partners has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Constantia Flexibles, a global packaging manufacturer, from Wendel.

Constantia, based in Vienna, will be sold for a price that yields net proceeds of around €1.1 billion, reflecting a multiple of 1.94 times Wendel's total investment in Constantia.

The transaction net proceeds are €84 million above Constantia Flexibles' valuation in Wendel's net asset value published before 31 March.

The additional proceeds generated by Constantia's ongoing assets disposals will bring the proceeds up to €1.12 billion, ie, a valuation 11 percent higher than the NAV at 31 March, 2023, and 6.8 percent higher than the NAV at June 30, 2023, according to a release

Wendel invested in Constantia in 2015.

"Constantia has grown through acquisition and innovation to be a leader serving its food and pharma customers," said Telmo Valido, partner at One Rock. "We look forward to partnering with Constantia's management team to continue innovating to solve for the evolving packaging needs and sustainability requirements of the company's customers."

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