TechMedia Network buys its way into lead-gen business with BuyerZone acquisition

The parent company of Space.com, Laptop magazine, and Tom’s Hardware is acquiring BuyerZone, a lead-generation business aimed at buyers and sellers of products for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB).

The expansion means TechMedia Network will be getting access to an e-commerce channel and can make money from lead generation, not just advertising. It already bills itself as the third-largest tech publisher in the world, after CNET and Ziff-Davis.

BuyerZone, which has been in business since 1992, has facilitated 7 million leads and tens of billions of dollars in transactions, according to a spokesperson for TMN. It currently includes more than one million buyers and 8,500 sellers in its network, with categories including business phone systems, point-of-sale systems, copiers, payroll services, and security systems.

TMN expects its revenue to grow by more than 20 percent in 2014, according to the spokesperson, and BuyerZone will contribute 20 to 25 percent of the combined company’s overall revenue, which provides an immediate justification for the acquisition.

The companies did not say what the terms of the acquisition would be. This is TMN’s second big buy in six months: In July, 2013, TMN acquired the parent company of Tom’s Hardware.

TMN took a $33 million Series B investment in 2011 from ABS Capital Partners, Village Ventures, and Highway 12 Ventures. It is based in New York.