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.

[1] Source: comScore U.S. Media Metrix, Tech-News category ranking by unique visitors, PC audience, September 2014

AnandTech Acquired By Purch
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  • Rezurecta - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Why are people so damn mean.

    How about Good luck Anandtech and I hope this helps you achieve your goals.
  • Takamata - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    That's fair. Anandtech have is a lot and we instantly turn on them in this event.

    It may be debatable if we are turning on "them", as if it's the same folks now that it's bought. But at least we could have some appreciation for what we got, for free.
  • Mr Perfect - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link

    I dunno, they already got Daily Tech off of the front page. DT had some interesting articles, but their authors tended to have political views that seeped into their articles and the user comments where positively caustic.

    Lets see where this site goes.
  • cyberguyz - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link

    Anandtech gone the way of THG. A sad day indeed. I have only taken the odd glimpse at Tom's since Tom Pabst gave it up and what I have seen since then is heartbreaking since that is where I had started getting into overclocking on 486 systems so long ago. You don't find that kind of in-house quality there anymore. And you won't find the old Anand quality here anymore either.

    So sad
  • Doomtomb - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link

    THEY SOLD OUT
  • Impulses - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    As long as it doesn't impact your editorial freedom it sounds like a great step forward for AnandTech (I wouldn't know what kinda effect it had on THG since I haven't read THG in like 12+ years, been sticking to AT/HardOCP).
  • alacard - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    How is it a "great step forward"? Was there something wrong with the old anandtech? Please edify me.
  • Impulses - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Nothing wrong per se, but they've lacked scale and resources for a long LONG time (since they started reviewing phones, maybe earlier)... They more than make up for it with the quality and depth of the articles for stuff they do cover, not too mention some of their industry contacts.

    However, if belonging to a larger company allows them to hire an extra writer or two, or pays current ones better and allows them more writing/reviewing time (or even a better budget for buying products for comparisons) then I'm all for it.

    Been reading AT nearly since it's inception, dunno why I've never been active on the boards (used to gravitate towards HardForum), maybe that's where the oldest readers comment... Seems a lot of comments here are from more recent readers, could be wrong.
  • Black Obsidian - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    On the upside, the sidebar of nonsense from DailyTech is gone, so it's not all bad news, guys.
  • barleyguy - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Agreed totally. DailyTech seemed to evolve from decent tech news to sensationalist crap over the last couple of years. I won't miss them a bit.

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