Digital advertising company Red Ventures has acquired Choose Energy for less than $100 million, Coins2Day has learned.
It’s a somewhat unusual pairing at first glance. Red Ventures is a Fort Mill, S.C.-based online-to-offline advertising company. In 2010, private equity firm General Atlantic invested in the company. In 2015, Silver Lake joined as a co-investor in a $250 million round that, valued Red Ventures at more than $1 billion. Last year the company raised an $800 million credit facility, presumably to finance acquisitions.
Meanwhile Plano, Texas-based Choose Energy operates website offering cost-comparison service tools for energy usage. The company raised $25.7 million in venture funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, BlueScape Resources, NGEN Partners, and angel investors. The company was profitable with “double digit millions” of revenue, a source said. Choose Energy had received inbound buyout interest earlier this year due to its position in the connected home category, and as a result, initiated a sale process.
Sources argue that Choose Energy fits in with Red Ventures’ combination of online marketplaces and single brand websites. The company has been quietly amassing a portfolio of products, which sources compared to that of Internet conglomerate IAC.
Choose Energy’s investment from Kleiner Perkins came from the firm’s green investment arm, which has $1 billion under management. The firm is currently in the midst of spinning off that effort into a new firm called G2VP. The firm has held a first close on its first fund, which has a target of $275 million.
Kleiner Perkins, General Atlantic and Silver Lake declined to comment on the deal. Representatives from Choose Energy and Red Ventures did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
