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Ancestry.com files to go public [BC-ANCESTRY:MK](Marketwatch Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SAN FRANCISCO _ Ancestry.com Inc., a decades-old online repository for family histories, filed late Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $75 million in stock through an initial public offering. North Provo, Utah-based Ancestry.com said in a regulatory filing that it now has more than 900,000 subscribers, and that it pulled in $197.6 million in revenue last year, while posting a $2.4 million profit. Ancestry.com, founded in 1983, said it believes its service, which enables users to sort through historical records related to family members, "has appeal in multiple markets around the world." It plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its business, make acquisitions and repay debt. The company said it plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker "ACOM." Investors in the company include private-equity firm Spectrum Equity Investors and venture-capital firm Crosslink Capital. Ancestry.com is one of only a handful of venture-capital-backed companies to file for an IPO so far this year. OpenTable Inc. and SolarWinds Inc. went public in May, while Medidata Solutions Inc. priced its IPO at $14 a share in June, and LogMeIn Inc. priced its own offering at $16 a share last month. A private-equity-backed firm, semiconductor company Avago Technologies Ltd., is expected to price its IPO later this week. Ancestry.com said it may need to use about 25 percent of the proceeds of its IPO to repay embattled lender CIT Group Inc., which helped provide a credit facility with an outstanding balance of roughly $117 million. Underwriters for the Ancestry.com IPO include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies & Co., Piper Jaffray and BMO Capital Markets. ___ (c) 2009, MarketWatch.com Inc. Visit MarketWatch on the Web at http://www.marketwatch.com Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. KeyWords:: BC-ANCESTRY:MK BC ANCESTRY MK |