Purch Acquires AnandTech, Dominates Tech Expert and Enthusiast Market
Leading content and commerce company adds respected mobile, computing, and IT reviews site to its brand portfolio
NEW YORK, NY (December 17, 2014) – Purch today announced the acquisition of AnandTech.com, a leader in mobile, computing and IT analysis and reviews. Purch’s industry-leading combination of high-quality content and integrated commerce experiences makes complex buying decisions easy for more than 100 million consumers and professionals monthly. With the acquisition of AnandTech, Purch furthers its mission to simplify purchase decisions for in-market tech consumers by adding one of the most popular computer components, hardware, and mobile reviews sites to a brand portfolio that already includes category heavyweight, Tom’s Hardware.
AnandTech has been at the forefront of the technological evolution, providing groundbreaking reviews and trend coverage of cutting-edge mobile and computing products since Anand Shimpi, one of the tech industry’s most authoritative and respected figures, founded it in 1997 at age 14.
“AnandTech has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years, but we were nearing what’s possible as an independent company,” said Ryan Smith, editor-in-chief, AnandTech. “The challenge has always been that there are very few players in the publishing space these days who value deep, high-quality content. We wanted a partner that understood our values, had a sound business model to ensure AnandTech’s legacy would continue for years to come, and would allow us to grow and expand our readership without compromising the quality that made us who were are today. Purch provides all of these things. I am beyond excited about what we’ll be able to do with their support.”
“The addition of AnandTech to a brand portfolio that includes Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide, and Top Ten Reviews unquestionably establishes Purch as the dominant provider of in-depth, quality technology content, serving technology buyers who want to ensure the value of their potential investments,” said Greg Mason, CEO, Purch. “Technology manufacturers, too, can be assured that their messages will reach any serious buyer. The two editorial teams represent the finest, most expert group of content talent in the technology space. ”
“AnandTech represents much of my life’s work over the past 18 years,” said Anand Shimpi, founder, AnandTech. “I am happy to see it end up with a partner committed to taking good care of the brand and its readers. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Purch offers brands and advertisers unmatched reach to tens of millions of discerning in-market tech consumers and professionals each month. These tech “enthusiasts” look to the kind of detailed research, benchmark testing, and advice from category experts during their buying process for which Tom’s Hardware and AnandTech are known. Readers trust that advice because it is backed by nearly two decades of testing every mobile and PC component imaginable, and is supported by unprecedented input and guidance from the biggest, passionate community of like-minded enthusiasts.
Purch’s acquisition of AnandTech is the company’s most recent move in a series of strategic acquisitions and partnerships aimed at furthering its mission to ease complex buying decisions for shoppers and deliver branding and performance results to advertisers. In 2013, the company acquired the renowned “Tom’s” brand of tech media sites and, earlier this year, purchased BuyerZone, the leading online marketplace for SMB buyers and sellers. Purch’s ability to trigger buying decisions in an array of product categories is evidenced by the more than 7,000 marketers and sellers that come to Purch to connect with ready-to-buy consumers. Each year, Purch’s content-commerce combination drives more than one billion dollars in commerce transactions.
In addition to the acquisition, Purch is now the number one technology publisher in the U.S., [1] with a global readership of more than 100 million monthly unique visitors.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
To find out more about Purch, visit www.purch.com or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
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About Purch
Purch is a portfolio of digital brands and services that helps make complex buying decisions easy for 100 million consumers monthly. Its respected sites such as Top Ten Reviews, Tom’s Guide, Tom’s Hardware, and Live Science natively integrate commerce and content in more than 1000 product categories so consumers can make better choices before, during, and after an important purchase.
The company helps marketers achieve their branding and performance objectives in a high-quality, brand-safe context. Its sites connect in-market shoppers with more than 7,000 marketers and sellers, driving industry-leading conversion rates and $1 billion in commerce transactions annually.
Purch is a high-growth, privately held company with more than 350 employees and offices across the U.S. and Europe.
For more information on Purch, visit www.purch.com or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
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[1] Source: comScore U.S. Media Metrix, Tech-News category ranking by unique visitors, PC audience, September 2014
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Drumsticks - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link
Edit: I will add that Anandtech has much better content than Toms Hardware, along with being much less ad-infested as well. The main page of tomshardware shows up with *TWENTY SIX* ads. Some of it might be the background or something, but that's just ridiculous. Meanwhile, Anandtech blocks like two ads. Please don't go that way.On the other hand, maybe the influx of cash will bring an actual edit button :)
otherwise - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link
I might be hugely biased, but I think Anandtech was much better than Tom's before the purchase, so it's not causation.Senti - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link
I can say that content of Anandtech lately was far from uniform: one awesome article, several good, several awful.FlyTexas - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link
Lately? :) I've been reading AnandTech since nearly the start, it has been a long time since it was all goodness. :)Drumsticks - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link
That I definitely can't weigh in on. I didn't start reading until about three years ago or so, and I believe Toms was already purchased then.JFP - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link
Tom's was purchased by Purch in July 2013. Prior to that it had passed through the hands of several companies.letsreboot - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link
+1. Also, Tom's used to be comparable some years ago (before the "Best of Media") era.Another +1 to @Senti's post below ref. perceived variable quality of published articles in the post-Anand era.
Sad reality is that it's all about the $$$/profits in the end.
Dug - Wednesday, December 24, 2014 - link
Yes most businesses are. But it's also about sustainability going forward. There's only so long you can work at minimum wage before you realize you would like something better in life.Money equals happy workers. Happy workers equals better content.
Wolfpup - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link
When was Tom's bought? It's still one of the hardware sites I go to, but maybe a decade ago I kind of switched to Anandtech as my main one.This is kind of sad, but I hope doesn't spell disaster. It's nuts that they had to do that to get ad revenue! I don't even KNOW of what big hardware sites these would be. Cnet maybe? IMO they're not worthless, but are more complementary than a competitor IMO since they can review a lot more stuff but obviously aren't very in depth and don't really cover technology.
chang3d - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link
For the longest time, Tom's was mostly posting Apple related news. I remember I was one of those guys who hit them on that in the comments, which got me banned for a week... I brought up the question why did Apple WDC get 20 articles and Google IO only got 1? Later Tom's defended itself by saying Apple news drives up hit counts, despite the fact most comments on those articles were overwhelming negative. It's like 10 of the 15 most recent articles were on Apple and expect us not to click on at least one of them to complain about why there are SO MANY Apple articles. So I quit Tom's.But, since Purch got Tom's, Tom's is now a more balanced hardware news site. I would say that Purch has done a pretty good job.