Saying that Kape Technologies is bullish on the future of VPN services is an understatement. The UK-based digital product company already owns Zenmate VPN and CyberGhost, and now it is acquiring yet another VPN provider — the US-based Private Internet Access (PIA) — along with its parent company, LTMI Holdings (London Trust Media).
With the addition of PIA’s over a million paying subscribers, Kape will soon become one of the biggest players in the ever-growing VPN industry — with more than two million subscribers in total.
The price tag of the deal is said to be $127.6 million, $32.1 million of which will go toward repayment of LTMI’s debt. Of the total sum, $52.9 million will be paid in cash, and the rest will come from issuing over 42.7 million new Kape shares. The process, however, is still not completed as it is subject to the usual regulatory approval. If everything goes smoothly, the acquisition is expected to be finalized in early 2020, and Kape says it will then adopt the Private Internet Access name.
In addition to PIA, Kape Technologies will also get other aspects and products of London Trust Media as part of the deal. This includes a number of software solutions such as Plus Ultra, a software designed to speed up Internet connections; LibreBrowser, a web browser designed with privacy in mind; and finally, Private.sh, the newly launched private search engine. So in addition to an active (and already popular) VPN provider, Kape will also get access to high-end technologies and software solutions.
“This transaction makes our vision a reality by creating one of the most prominent privacy companies globally,” Kape CEO, Ido Erlichman, said in a statement. “In one acquisition, I believe we have positioned Kape to fast become one of the leading digital privacy service providers in the world, empowering consumers to manage their own data and digital security.”
Ted Kim, Chief Executive Officer of LTMI, is also pleased with the deal: “We are excited to join forces with Kape to create a true pioneer in digital privacy with significant scale,” he said, adding: “This transaction brings us one step closer in realising our vision of a digitally private and secure world for our customers.”
Kape Technologies may be best known for its controlling shareholder, Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi, who is ranked 6th on Forbes’ Richest Israeli People and who entered the company in 2013. Sagi owns 73% of Kape Technologies right now, but this is poised to be reduced to 55.9% once the acquisition of PIA is complete.
If we can take Kape’s previous acquisitions for something, we can say that good times are ahead for Private Internet Access users. Both Zenmate VPN and CyberGhost VPN have been rapidly expanding their server networks and adding new features after being acquired by Kape. We hope that will also be the case with PIA, which is already one of the fastest VPNs out there and most certainly the one with the best browser extension. Can’t wait. 😉
Pros
Cons
- Fast, reliable download and upload speeds
- Works great for Netflix and torrenting
- Dedicated Chrome and Firefox extensions
- Connect 10 devices simultaneously
- Doesn't work well in China