Block & Leviton LLP Investigates Ancestry.com, Inc. for Possible Breaches of Fiduciary Duty in Connection With Its Proposed Going Private Transaction

BOSTON, Oct. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockesq.com), a Boston-based law firm representing investors nationwide, has commenced an investigation into possible breaches of fiduciary duties by the Board of Directors of Ancestry.com, Inc. ("Ancestry.com" or the "Company") (NASDAQGS: ACOM) with regards to their recently announced going private transaction by Permira Funds Partners, scheduled to close in early 2013.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ancestry.com shareholders will receive $32.00 per Ancestry.com share held at the time of the transaction.  This acquisition was purposely timed to take advantage of a temporary drop in the share price of Ancestry.com.  As recently as August 20, 2012, Ancestry.com traded above the price of the proposed transaction.  Even at the Company's temporarily depressed stock price, the premium offered is less than 10% of Ancestry.com's closing price of October 19, 2012, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the deal.  Block & Leviton's investigation seeks to determine, among other things, whether Ancestry.com's Directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to maximize shareholder value in the going private transaction and the process by which the Ancestry.com Directors considered and approved the transaction. 

On July 25, 2012, ACOM announced second-quarter sales and profit that topped analysts' estimates.  In response to this news, analysts have set a price target for Ancestry.com as high as $45 per share, and the median analyst price estimate for the Company's stock is $37.89 per share, nearly 20% higher than the premium of the proposed transaction. 

According to the Company's press release, the agreement provides that Ancestry.com's largest shareholder, Spectrum Equity Investors V, L.P., which currently owns approximately 30% of Ancestry.com's outstanding shares, CEO Tim Sullivan and CFO Howard Hochhauser, will all retain equity ownership stakes in Ancestry.com post-acquisition.

If you are an Ancestry.com shareholder and have questions about your legal rights, or if you have information relevant to this investigation, please contact attorney Steven P. Harte at (617) 398-5600 or email him at [email protected].  

Block & Leviton is a Boston-based law firm representing investors nationwide for violations of securities laws. The firm's lawyers have collectively been prosecuting securities cases on behalf of investors for over 50 years. This notice may constitute attorney advertising.

Contact:
BLOCK & LEVITON LLP
Steven P. Harte, Esq.
[email protected]
(617) 398-5600 

SOURCE Block & Leviton LLP