Ancestry Says a 23AndMe Takeover Would Raise Antitrust Issues

Ancestry.com Inc.said a hypothetical takeover of its flailing rival in the consumer genetic testing industry, 23andMe Holding Co., likely wouldn’t be possible for antitrust reasons.

“Although we are always interested in looking at possibilities that are out there, 23andMe specifically would be challenging because they’re the No. 2 in the category and we’re the No. 1 in the category and those combinations can be challenging from an FTC standpoint,” Chief Legal Officer Greg Packer said at an internal meeting last week when asked about the possibility of buying 23andMe’s database.

An Ancestry spokesperson declined to comment beyond what ...