Angie’s List Reaches Agreement with TCS Capital and Expands Board of Directors
INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Angie’s List (Nasdaq: ANGI) today announced that it has reached an
agreement with TCS Capital pursuant to which Eric Semler, Founder and
President of TCS Capital, and consumer technology and media industry
veterans, George Bell and Tom Evans, have been appointed to the Angie’s
List Board of Directors.
“We are delighted to welcome well respected and accomplished individuals
to the Angie’s List Board, including veterans of the consumer technology
and media industry and a large shareholder who brings deep expertise
investing in the digital media and e-commerce space,” said Angie’s List
Chairman John Chuang. “George has always had a passion for the
intersection of content, digital transformation and consumer experience,
set against a backdrop of changing business models. Equally
complementary to Angie’s List, Tom brings an outstanding record of
catalyzing growth with consumer businesses built on technology-based
platforms. Eric has an excellent investing track record in the digital
space and we look forward to his input as we work to enhance shareholder
value at Angie’s List. We are confident these new directors will be
valuable contributors to the Company.”
Scott Durchslag, Angie’s List President and Chief Executive Officer,
said, “Since joining Angie’s List, my confidence in the Company and our
opportunity as the market leader in home services has only become
stronger. Angie’s List has unparalleled brand awareness and trust with
consumers, over 10 million reviews and a strong base of high quality
service providers. The depth of our data and the experience we offer to
consumers and service providers is compelling; our new Angie’s List 4.0
platform now rolling out will take us to an even higher level. As we
will detail at our upcoming investor day, our new Profitable Growth Plan
enables us to reach deeper into the marketplace and better monetize
visits to Angie’s List in order to reignite revenue growth and drive
profitability. We look forward to the insights provided by these new
directors as we work to execute on this plan and capitalize on the
Company’s many strengths.”
Mr. Semler said, “We are pleased to have reached a constructive
agreement with Angie’s List. The Company has a strong brand and customer
base, and I believe we have the opportunity to realize exceptional
returns for all shareholders. Tom Evans brings deep executive level
experience in the e-commerce and digital media industries, George Bell
further enhances the Board with his wealth of experience as a senior
executive, board director and investor across a broad spectrum of the
digital communications industry, and I look forward to joining as
another shareholder representative in the boardroom. We will work with
our fellow board members to oversee Angie’s List management and to help
drive improved operating and financial performance in 2016 and beyond.
We are excited to begin this important work immediately.”
Mr. Bell said, “Angie’s List stands out for its brand strength, its
depth of genuine reviews and the vibrancy of its community. I look
forward to drawing on my experience to help accelerate the Company’s
growth, while enriching its value to shareholders, members and merchant
partners alike.”
Mr. Evans said, “I am delighted to join the Angie’s List Board and work
with the Board and the management team in their efforts to lead and
shape the home services marketplace. I believe strongly in the Company’s
brand value, market opportunity and prospects for increased
profitability.”
Angie’s List also announced that after 10 years of service, John
Biddinger has retired from the Board effective upon the entry into the
settlement agreement.
Mr. Chuang continued, “John has served as a distinguished member of the
Angie’s List Board since 2006. We appreciate his leadership and the
guidance he has provided as both a director and as a member of the
Board’s Audit and Nominating and Governance committees. We are grateful
for his service and wish him all the best going forward.”
With the changes announced today, which are effective immediately, the
Angie’s List Board has been expanded to 11 directors, 9 of whom are
independent and 9 of whom have joined the Board in the past 5 years. Mr.
Semler will serve as a Class III director, Mr. Bell as a Class II
director, and Mr. Evans as a Class I director.
The agreement between TCS Capital and Angie’s List includes customary
standstill and voting commitments by TCS Capital and permits TCS Capital
to purchase up to 12.75% of the Company’s outstanding shares. The full
agreement between Angie’s List and TCS Capital will be included as an
exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K and filed by Angie’s List with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Eric Semler
Mr. Semler is the Founder and President of TCS Capital Management, an
investment fund focused on media, technology and communications
companies. He founded TCS in 2001, and within several years, it was one
of the largest independent funds focused on media and communications
equities. Since its inception in 2001, the flagship TCS Global Equity
Fund has generated returns that are more than double the returns of the
S&P 500 Index and MSCI World Index over the same time period. Mr. Semler
has been an investor in Angie’s List since 2011 – before it became a
public company. He began his career as a journalist working for The New
York Times in New York and for the Moscow News in Russia.
Mr. Semler is the Co-founder and Chairman of the nonprofit Bronx
Baseball Dreams organization, and is a director for the Van Cortlandt
Park Conservancy. He has served on the Boards of Geeknet.com,
dealtime.com, Classic Media, Channel 13/WNET TV, WNYC Radio, Wave Hill
and the Dwight School. Mr. Semler has co-authored two books published by
Harper Collins: The Language of Nuclear War, and The Harper Collins
Businessman’s Guide to Moscow.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Mr. Semler received a B.A. from
Dartmouth College, and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Harvard University.
About George Bell
Mr. Bell brings to Angie’s List 30 years of experience growing and
investing in media, subscription and digital businesses. He is a
five-time Chief Executive Officer and twice a public company CEO.
Mr. Bell has served as a Managing Director and Executive in Residence at
General Catalyst, a venture capital and private equity firm with over $3
billion under management. At General Catalyst, Mr. Bell has focused on
investment opportunities in consumer, new media and Internet businesses.
As the mobile revolution emerged, he served as Chief Executive Officer
of Jumptap, a mobile advertising technology company and a former General
Catalyst portfolio company that was acquired by Millennial Media in
2013, and then by AOL. Before joining General Catalyst, Mr. Bell was
Chief Executive Officer of Upromise, the country’s largest college
savings service, which was acquired in 2006 by Sallie Mae.
During the birth of the consumer internet, Mr. Bell was Chief Executive
Officer of Excite, one of first and largest search engines, where he
oversaw the Company’s initial public offering, the acquisition of more
than 20 companies and Excite’s growth into a worldwide media
organization. Mr. Bell also served as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Excite@Home, which was created by the $7 billion merger he
led between the Excite portal and the @Home cable broadband platform,
forming the largest content and broadband subscription service of its
time.
Earlier, Mr. Bell was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of one of
the first specialty cable channels, The Outdoor Life Network, later
renamed Versus Network, and which is now NBC Sports Network. He was also
a former senior vice president of Times Mirror Magazines, where he
oversaw special interest magazines, such as SKI and Field & Stream.
Mr. Bell is the recipient of two Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Awards, as
well as four national Emmy Awards, which he earned as a producer and
writer of adventure and wildlife documentaries.
Mr. Bell is currently an independent director at John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
His prior public board experience includes Excite, Excite@Home,
Millennial Media and Board Chair of Harris Interactive.
About Tom Evans
Mr. Evans joins Angie’s List with decades of experience leading consumer
internet and media companies. From 2004 through 2013, he was the
President and Chief Executive Officer of Bankrate, Inc., an internet
publisher of consumer financial content and rate information. In 2009,
Mr. Evans took the Company through a $580 million take-private
transaction with Apax Partners, a London-based private equity firm. Less
than two years later, Mr. Evans led the Company through a $1.5 billion
Initial Public Offering. During his tenure at Bankrate, the Company’s
revenues grew by over 14x and pre-tax profit grew by over 20x. Mr. Evans
also served on the Company’s Board of Directors before retiring as Chief
Executive Officer and from the Board at the end of 2013. In 2014 and
2015 Mr. Evans served as an Advisor to the Board of Bankrate.
From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Evans served as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Official Payments Corp., an internet company specializing in
processing consumer credit card payments for government taxes, fees and
fines online. During his tenure there, Mr. Evans led the Company through
its 1999 Initial Public Offering and a sale of the Company to Tier
Technologies in 2003.
From March 1998 to June 1999, Mr. Evans was President and Chief
Executive Officer of GeoCities Inc., a community of personal Websites on
the Internet. In 1998, Mr. Evans led the Company through its Initial
Public Offering and sold the Company in 1999 to Yahoo! Inc. for $4.6
billion.
Prior to his internet experience, Mr. Evans was a 20 year veteran of the
magazine business. From January 1991 to February 1998, Mr. Evans was
President and Publisher of U.S. News & World Report. In addition to his
duties at U.S. News & World Report, Mr. Evans served as President of The
Atlantic Monthly (1996 – 1998) and as President and Publisher of Fast
Company (1995 – 1998), a magazine launched in 1995.
Mr. Evans is currently a Senior Advisor to Warburg Pincus & Co. He also
serves as a director of Shutterstock, Inc.
Mr. Evans received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business
Administration from Arizona State University.
About Angie’s List
Angie’s List helps facilitate happy transactions between more than three
million consumers nationwide and its collection of highly-rated service
providers in 720 categories of service, ranging from home improvement to
health care. Built on a foundation of authentic reviews of local
service, Angie’s List connects consumers directly to its online
marketplace of services from member-reviewed providers, and offers
unique tools and support designed to improve the local service
experience for both consumers and service professionals.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication are “forward-looking
statements” made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each
as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current
assumptions, expectations and beliefs of the Company and involve
substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results, performance
or achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute
to such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company’s
ability to accurately measure and predict revenue per paid membership,
membership acquisition costs or costs associated with servicing its
members; the Company’s ability to protect its brand and maintain its
reputation among consumers and service providers; the Company’s ability
to attract and retain service providers to advertise and sell e-commerce
on its platforms; the Company’s ability to successfully monetize its
memberships and service provider contracts as it grows its business; the
Company’s success in converting consumers and service providers into
paid memberships and participating service providers, respectively; the
Company’s ability to renew memberships and participating service
providers; the Company’s ability to predict and respond in a timely
manner to changes in consumer demand; the Company’s ability to attract
and retain key management and personnel; competitive factors; the
Company’s ability to stay abreast of modified or new laws and
regulations applying to its business, including those regarding sales or
transaction taxes and privacy regulation; the Company’s ability to
adequately protect its intellectual property; the Company’s ability to
successfully implement its growth strategies or effectively manage its
growing business; and general economic conditions and the corresponding
impact on consumer confidence and spending.
For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the
Company’s forward-looking statements, please refer to the filings the
Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)
from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form
8-K. All forward-looking statements in this communication are based on
information currently available to the Company, and the Company assumes
no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
Contacts
Angie’s List
Media
Debra DeCourcy, APR,
317-713-0479
debra.decourcy@angieslist.com
or
Investors
Leslie
Arena, 317-808-4527
lesliea@angieslist.com
