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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  • Takamata - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    I always wondered why daily tech was on there... It's journalistic quality runs in sharp contrast to Anandtech.

    That said, Jason Mick is such a bafoon that it was funny to marvel at the idiocy from time to time.
  • magreen - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link

    So true about Mick. And the commenters there seemed to appreciate his buffoonery. They'd downvote anyone who criticized his writing.

    (Btw, I like "bafoon"--seems to combine baboon and buffoon into one descriptively rich word.)
  • Guspaz - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link

    DailyTech is a spinoff of AnandTech, hence why they were featured on front page.
  • Egg - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Hey, this is possibly worth it for just that...
  • MikhailT - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Best news of the month; that horrible DailyTech is no longer on Anandtech. It should've been gone a long time ago.

    Purch seems like a smart owner, otherwise it wouldn't buy AnandTech. It knows the readers that always visit the site value the high-quality content. So it is wise to make sure they got their money worth by making sure Anandtech retains its writers and how they do things. Nobody here is obligated to stay if everything goes bad from now on and the readers will also go find something else.
  • Murloc - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    I bet Jason Mick is fuming and Tiffany will soon be out of a job. Although there is still a link to DailyTech on the bottom of the site :P

    I just hope they won't kill the AT forum. It has great tech content and users, but it depends on the tech-unrelated community forums too to drive traffic and form a forum culture.
    If these guys begin to try and professionalize the forum by eliminating OT, P&N etc., it will go bust, despite being one of the longest-life forums I've ever seen (usually they crash at some point).
  • Minion4Hire - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel as if Tom's has anything it can teach Anandtech. Maybe the other way around, but that doesn't really make Anandtech better...
  • ws3 - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    I quite liked Tom's in the late 90's. Now I don't like it at all. Hopefully Purch didn't have anything to do with that.
  • barleyguy - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    I quit reading Tom's in the early 2000's because of concerns I had about their ethics, specifically how they handled the parting with Van and then removed his byline. I haven't been back since then. The Internet is a really big place, generally if I leave a website I look for someplace new to hang out and the leaving is permanent. (Other sites I've left have been Gamespot and Ars Technica.)

    Anandtech is still on my nice list despite recent changes; I'm hoping they stay there, because I've been a daily reader since almost the beginning.
  • Impulses - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    I think I stopped even before that, it wasn't over the petty squabbles with Kyle at HardOCP but I can't quite remember why I stopped going there... Whenever I've gone back the site looks like a mess, specially on mobile, so I don't stick around.

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