The Los Angeles-based commerce and content platform StackCommerce has been acquired by Integrated Media Company, a holding company set up by the massive private equity fund TPG to acquire new media businesses.
StackCommerce’s affiliate buying platform has distributed more than $175 million on its platform by going directly to merchants. Through its platform, publishers can make between 15% to 20% of gross compared with 5% on an affiliate marketing site. StackCommerce takes 30% to 40% of the transaction, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s operations.
As a part of Integrated Media, StackCommerce will join properties like Fandom and Goal.com. With the firepower of TPG behind the combined entity, Integrated Media could bolt on other media companies and then monetize them using the sales engine developed by StackCommerce.
“Josh and the team at Stack have already built a large and important company in the e-commerce ecosystem with almost no outside investment,” said Andy Doyle, Operations director at TPG. “And yet we’re still in the early stages of the market’s evolution. We feel fortunate to partner with a team that has such deep expertise in commerce and technology. We look forward to supporting Stack’s rapid growth as it serves more publishers and influencers and provides an even better shopping experience for audiences.”
It’s a business that’s been incredibly profitable for the Los Angeles company, which raised $1 million from the LA-based accelerator and incubator Amplify and a few angel investors. That $1 million round took the company to a business that employed around 90 people and was generating $80 million in revenue in 2020, according to a person familiar with the company.
StackCommerce has partnered with more than 1,000 publishers and 5,000 brands, including CNN, CNET, Verizon Media, Hearst, Mashable, NY Post, TMZ, MarketWatch and more, according to a statement.
“We founded StackCommerce nearly a decade ago to reimagine affiliate commerce for publishers by enabling them to own the customer data and user experience top to bottom. We’ve been pioneering the commerce and content space ever since, helping publishers to build and scale this new revenue stream at a higher rate and with access to content creation services, user acquisition, and more,” said Josh Payne, the founder and chief executive of StackCommerce, in a statement. “Today is not just an important day for Stack, but for the future of shoppable content. TPG’s in-depth media expertise will make for a brighter future for our partners through further investment in our industry-leading commerce tools and services.”
StackCommerce was advised by investment bank CG Petsky Prunier, part of the Canaccord Genuity Group. Cooley LLP acted as legal advisor to StackCommerce.
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