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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  • Kneedragger - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Does this mean the aging forum will get a software update? Sure would be nice..
  • Ryan Smith - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Not immediately. But yes, that's on my list of things I want to do.
  • Takamata - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Ryan, et al. --

    Thanks for all you do and have done in supporting this site and the deep tech community. You are the good guys.

    I truly hope you can continue your run unabated. I can only hope that Purch understands the savvy user base here won't respond well to ad-splattering and lower quality content. Keep it alive.
  • JFP - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link

    I'm Purch's CTO, and don't worry, we are already looking at how to do the upgrade.
  • RazrLeaf - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    To all the sad readers out there: Give your trusted editors/writers a chance. At least give them a proper chance to lose the credibility they've built up over the years. =P

    They've said for a long time that the business and the content side are separate, and in the coming years, they will have the chance to prove it. If things change for the worse, we will leave. But if things get better (as I hope they do), more will come. And that's good for all of us.
  • Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    "If things change for the worse, we will leave."

    And so will I. Anand has taught us all to be objective and value our editorial independence high, so if that is jeopardized I'll be on my way to the exit.
  • alacard - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Kristian, if your editorial independence is so highly valued why did you sell in the first place?
  • Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    It's outlined in the article. Basically the acquisition allows us to keep growing the site as we have more power behind us that helps to negotiate better advertising deals. More money means more editors, which in turn results in more and higher quality content.
  • Moricon - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Sorry man, you are working on the donut theory there, yes the bigger you make the donut, the bigger the hole in the middle, this is the road to being yet another craptastic review site, well done indeed in following the money!

    Anand has traditionally had the very best content of the highest quality, so what makes you think more money is needed to create what clearly has already been provided!

    Alacard states it as it is!
  • Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - link

    Let me address the quantity first (and for the record, these are just my thoughts and observations and may not represent the Purch' or Ryan's point of views).

    There are ton of areas that we could explore more with increased resources. I can speak the best about the SSD and storage side as that's where my focus is in, and what I can say is that our enterprise SSD coverage has been lacking for quite some time now. The reason for that is the fact that one person (i.e. me) is simply not enough to cover both client and enterprise sides in full.

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