Subtitle: The pedigree of a genealogy company.
Mattel, the toymaker, is spinning off its genealogy business into a separate company. The new venture,
Genealogy.com, will include the popular FamilyTreeMaker software program.
FamilyTreeMaker was a product of Banner Blue Software. They were
bought by Broderbund who, later, also bought Parsons Technology, the makers
of Family Origins. Borderbund was bought by The Learning Company which,
in turn, is now owned by Mattel.
Mattel makes Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars. They are spinning off
a majority stake in Genealogy.com, hoping to turn around its lackluster Learning Co. acquisition, in a joint venture with A&E Television, among others.
A&E is a joint venture of Hearst Corp., Walt Disney Co.'s ABC and
General Electric Co.'s NBC. They will provide significant on-air promotion to
educate its viewers on the benefits of using the Internet to explore family
heritage.
The new company, based in Fremont, California, will include the existing genealogy Web site as well as The Learning Company's Family Tree Maker software, Family Archive CDs and FamilyTreeMaker.
Their press release.
