CORRECTION Any You Thought Giving your DNA to Ancestry.com was harmless

Correction

Blackstone is buying Ancestry.com

Everybody just sold themselves out. Now your DNA will get sold to any insurer that wants to buy it, or any other business that wants to know about you and your family.

Blackstone to acquire Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion

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.

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.

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