The following excerpt is from the December 13 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ancestry.com Inc. executives backed a $1.6 billion buyout by Permira Advisers LLP and dismissed higher bids for the world’s largest family-history website to protect their jobs and get shares in the deal, Ancestry investors said in a court filing.
Timothy Sullivan, Ancestry’s chief executive officer, and another executive supported Permira’s bid after receiving promises they could keep their posts and roll $67 million in Ancestry shares into the newly private company, the Ancestry shareholders said in a sealed Delaware Chancery Court filing reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Sullivan and Howard Hockhauser, Ancestry’s chief financial officer, served as the lead negotiators with bidders seeking to acquire the genealogical research firm, according to the Dec. 7 filing. Sullivan also sits on Ancestry’s board.
Because of their financial stake in Permira’s bid, the executives’ focus was on “obtaining the greatest return on their equity rollover, putting their interests at odds with public shareholders,” the investors said in the filing.
