Private equity firm acquires MyHeritage

Family history company MyHeritage announced private equity firm Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm, has completed the previously announced acquisition. The transaction was signed on Feb. 24, 2021, and was pending regulatory approvals, which have recently been received, and hence the acquisition was completed today.

Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage, will continue to lead the company. No changes were announced in personnel or product roadmap. MyHeritage is currently used by 85 million users worldwide who have collectively created more than 72 million family trees, and the site is available in 42 languages.

MyHeritage has raised $49 million over the years in five rounds of financing, the last of which took place in 2012, after which the company turned profitable, the company said. The company’s investors have included private investors Yuval Rakavy and Aviv Raiz, who invested in the company in 2005 and have continued to support it ever since, as well as Accel, Index Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners. With their support, the company accelerated its growth and completed 11 strategic acquisitions. Some of the company’s current investors will be re-investing into the company alongside Francisco Partners, including HP Beteiligungs GmbH, Yuval Rakavy, the company’s founder and CEO Gilad Japhet, and independent investor Gigi Levy.

Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised more than $24 billion in capital and invested in more than 300 technology companies