LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kape Technologies, a consumer security software business, is delighted to announce the transformational acquisition of Private Internet Access (PIA), a leading US-based digital privacy company. This acquisition will significantly increase the company’s presence in North America and doubles its existing user base to over 2 million paying customers with a truly global brand.
This catapults Kape towards becoming the ‘go-to’ privacy company for consumers, paving the way to dominating the rapidly growing digital privacy space, which is already worth US$24 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow by 50% by 2022. According to the Breach Level Index, in the first half of 2018, more than 25 million records were compromised every day, which equates to 291 records every second. As technology develops, and more and more data is shared online, the need for online protection is increasing exponentially. The acquisition of PIA will see Kape’s user base double to over 2 million paying subscribers with almost half of them in the US. The combined group is expected to be profitable and generate over US$120 million in revenues in 2020.
As part of the transaction, Kape will add a number of encryption-based consumer software solutions to its privacy suite available on mobile, tablet and desktops, including: Plus Ultra, a software that speeds up internet connections; LibreBrowser, a completely private browser; and Private.sh, a private and encrypted search engine. This suite will provide people a truly private digital environment.
Ido Erlichman, Chief Executive Officer of Kape, said: “This is a game-changing moment for both Kape and PIA, transforming our vision of creating a truly global privacy company into a reality.”
Ted Kim, Chief Executive Officer of LTMI (PIA’s holding company), added: “We are excited to join forces with Kape to create a true pioneer in digital privacy with significant scale. This transaction brings us one step closer in realising our vision of a digitally private and secure world for our customers.”
Lumos Partners, LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Baker Botts L.L.P served as legal counsel to PIA/LTMI. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner acted as legal counsel for Kape.
About Kape (AIM: Kape)
Kape is a cybersecurity company focused on helping consumers around the world to have better experience and protection in their digital life. Kape develops and distributes a variety of digital products in the online security space. The Group utilises its proprietary digital distribution technology to optimise its reach and create a superb user experience. Kape offers products which provide online security, privacy and an optimal online experience. Kape's vision is to provide online autonomy for a secure and accessible personal digital life, with a team of over 350 people across seven locations worldwide.
About PIA
PIA was established in 2009 and is a security software business, based in Denver, Colorado. Since its inception, PIA has grown to become a leading VPN service provider focused on the consumer market, employing approximately 65, with 35% in an R&D capacity. PIA has over 1 million paying subscribers globally, with 48% of them based in the US.
