Inquiry chair Laura Carstensen (in the CC ruling)...

“We found that while there is a degree of overlap in the activities of the two companies, it is small and their business models are different, and in the absence of the merger would be likely to remain so. After the merger another website, Ancestry.co.uk, will remain the largest supplier in this market and its presence, along with potential entry by new suppliers and the alternatives provided by free sites, will ensure that the merged company faces strong competition—preventing it from raising prices or worsening the service it provides.

“In fact, the merger could potentially benefit amateur family historians as the merged company will be better equipped to compete directly with Ancestry.co.uk, leading to more innovation and improvements in the market.”

Final ruling is due by April 16, but ITV (LSE: ITV) can now start planning with some certainty what to do with that much-needed £25 million, putting behind five years, since it bought Friends Reunited, in which - despite it bringing in subscription revenue - it lost ground to the new social networks. ITV also spoiled Friends’ revenue potential by removing the subscription model in favour of ad support on the cusp of the advertising downturn.

The sale price is less than the £170 million ITV paid for Friends in 2005 and less than the £60 million it had hoped to get for off-loading it.

Brightsolid, a subsidiary of newspaper group DC Thomson, also owns Findmypast.com, 1911census.com and plans to launch an over-50s dating site post-acquisition.