PureCars, an Atlanta-based digital advertising platform for the automotive industry, has been acquired by Diversis Capital LLC and Stage 1 Ventures.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, the acquisition was part of a spinout from Raycom Media as a result of their merger with Gray Television, according to a news release. In 2015, the company was acquired by Raycom Media for $125 million --- making it one of the largest automotive technology acquisitions at the time.
“The new ownership is great for PureCars as it allows us to accelerate our advancement in product, technology, data, and our insatiable commitment to customer service excellence,” Samuel Mylrea, CEO of PureCars, said in a statement. “We are driven by the tremendous opportunity for our data and technology platform to help dealers improve operations, customer acquisition, retention, and ultimately drive more customer lifetime value and profitability.”
Founded in 2007, PureCars' platform suite offers various marketing solutions to drive high-probability buyers to a dealer's site, optimize traffic on their site and convert those customers in the showroom. The company was founded by its current chairman, Jeremy Anspach.
“Over a decade ago I founded PureCars to solve mass deficiencies within automotive and help dealers sell more cars," Anspach said in a statement. "I’m excited about this new chapter and our new owner’s commitment to providing PureCars with the financial support to innovate even faster and pursue key strategic acquisitions to enhance our product and our dealers sell and service more cars by using PureCars."
Headquartered in Atlanta, PureCars has offices in Birmingham and Miami. Prior to the Raycom acquisition, the startup raised a total of $10 million from Stage 1 Ventures and Gemini Investors. Stage 1 Ventures was also part of the sale to Raycom in 2015.
Diversis and Stage 1 will provide growth capital to further expand PureCars’ product offerings via internal development and acquisitions.
“We’ve spent a lot of time looking at technology-driven solutions in the automotive space," Kevin Ma, managing director at Diversis, said in a statement. "PureCars not only stood out because of their market-leading technology platform, but also the management team’s dedication and passion for solving the mass deficiencies in the industry. After surveying the market landscape and spending time with customers, acquiring PureCars was a really easy decision for us."
