Finding Family Is Big Business: Ancestry.com Files For $75 Million IPO

by editor on Aug.03, 2009, under TechCrunch

After going a year with nary a venture-backed IPO in sight, here’s more proof that things are finally beginning to perk up: Ancestry.com, a genealogy service that allows user to map out and search for their family history, has filed for a $75 million IPO. You can see the full SEC filing here.

Ancestry.com offers some basic functionality for free, but to tap into the site’s vast library of historical records, which includes billions of documents and photographs, users have to sign up for a premium subscription. The company claims nearly 1 million subscribers, with an average revenue of $16.50 per subscriber. With monthly churn of 4.1% and a acquisition cost of $67.30, the company can make its money back in four months for each subscriber. In the last six months, Ancestry has made $107 million, with profits of $8 million and a run rate of $200 million.

Back in October 2007 Spectrum Equity Investors led a $300 million buyout of Ancestry.com’s parent company, The Generations Network (which now calls itself Ancestry.com Inc). But it wasn’t a complete buyout, with employees and possibly some outside investors retaining equity in the company.

Ancestry has been on the web for over twelve years, but its roots extend back to 1984, when the company published family history books. The company now employs more than 600 people.