MyHeritage to Acquire Filae

We’re excited to announce that MyHeritage has signed agreements to acquire 90.91% of the share capital and 89.11% of the voting rights of Filae, a leading genealogy service in France. Through additional planned steps, MyHeritage’s stake in Filae will increase later on to 100%.

More details are available in the press release. 

The announcement marks the dawn of a new era for French genealogy that will leverage Filae’s expertise in French historical records and MyHeritage’s cutting-edge technologies and global reach. This marks the 12th acquisition by MyHeritage and reinforces its position as the leading family history service for people with European roots. Filae’s existing team will be maintained and strengthened, based in its current Paris office, and the company will continue to work independently. 

About Filae

Founded in 1994, formerly known as NotreFamille.com and Genealogie.com and renamed Filae.com in 2016, the company is dedicated to making genealogical research easier and more accessible through innovative technologies and exclusive collections of digitized and transcribed historical records from France. The underlying values of ease of use, accessibility, and innovation, coupled with a deep passion for genealogical content, have served as the foundation for the ongoing relationship between MyHeritage and Filae. Both companies’ founders saw joining forces as the natural next step in this relationship.

Between-lockdowns photo of part of the Filae team

Pictured above, from right to left, are CEO Toussaint Roze and team members Loo Xiao-Hui, Frédéric Robillard, Yann Guillerm, Laurent Fordant, Géraldine Beauvais, Jean-François Walter, Isabelle Paupière, Patricia Masson, Nicolas Tombette, and Vincent Brossier, and former team members Mathieu Caron and Isabelle Godefroy. Not pictured are Emmanuel Condamine, Fatima Morgado, Ismail Bziz, Cédric Coulonges, Benjamin Bitton, Anatole Juge, Bruno Del Vecchio, François Degrincourt, Violaine Champetier, Antoine Leyh, Jennifer Fernandes, and all the freelancers who work with Filae. We’re excited to have you on board!

Opening new horizons for those with roots in France

Following the acquisition, the exclusive historical record collections housed on Filae, comprising more than one billion records, will be loaded into MyHeritage and made accessible to MyHeritage users, creating new genealogical discovery opportunities for individuals around the world with French roots. MyHeritage’s resources and technologies will enable Filae to accelerate the digitization and indexing of additional historical record collections, which will be made accessible to users of both platforms. Filae will remain a French company based in Paris and will continue to operate autonomously. Filae’s founder, Toussaint Roze, will continue to manage the company and its operations will continue uninterrupted. The scope of services available to current subscribers on Filae will remain unchanged and special benefits will soon be introduced to its members.

Privacy Guarantee

MyHeritage has a strong privacy framework that includes a strict commitment to the privacy of users’ data, making it unique among the major genealogy companies. Its privacy policy states unequivocally that MyHeritage has never sold or licensed personal data or genetic data and will never do so in the future.

An exciting combination

“We sought to accelerate our growth and recognized the incredible opportunity before us,” said Toussaint Roze, Founder and CEO of Filae. “MyHeritage has unparalleled experience, technological expertise, and an excellent reputation, and we are confident that by combining our respective strengths, Filae will experience strong growth that will enrich the family history resources for anyone of French descent.”

“As we did when we acquired Geni.com eight years ago, our plan is to maintain Filae’s independence and existing team, and strengthen it,” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “French genealogists have much to gain from this combination, which brings together MyHeritage’s resources, its powerful matching technologies, and Filae’s extensive historical archives and its expertise in French genealogy. The acquisition of Filae is a significant step for MyHeritage that builds on a longstanding relationship of trust and mutual respect.”

Thanks to this acquisition, MyHeritage users can expect significant content enhancements on MyHeritage between the months of September and December 2021.