Before and After SurfShark Merger

Major VPN providers Surfshark and Nord Security are merging, according to a blog post from both companies. The merger is one of a number of consolidations within the VPN market, much of which is already controlled by Kape Technologies, Tesonet, and Ziff Davis.

NordVPN and Surfshark Are Merging, Continuing VPN Consolidation Trend

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: NordVPN and Surfshark have finalized a merger agreement between the two VPN providers, the companies announced Wednesday. Though the specifics of the transaction aren’t being released, the finalized merger agreement follows months of negotiations between the two companies that began in mid-2021, according to a joint press release issued by Surfshark and Nord Security, NordVPN’s parent company. Surfshark and NordVPN had been rivals in the ultra-competitive market for VPNs (virtual private networks) prior to the merger, but are now joining forces to “solidify both companies’ offerings in different market segments and diversify the geographical reach,” according to the press release. More consumers have turned to VPNs in recent years to counter increasingly invasive digital tracking from search engines, ISPs and advertisers, as well as to circumvent local content restrictions and censorship. But the merger of two of the industry’s top names — both of which have long been among CNET’s top VPN picks — highlights the continued trend of consolidation in the VPN industry, which finds more brands under the umbrella of just three big companies — Kape Technologies, Tesonet and Ziff Davis — making it more important than ever to understand which entities are ultimately controlling the data sharing and privacy policies that underpin VPNs. The merger announcement follows the news just days ago that Surfshark was developed with the help of Tesonet, the same Lithuanian business incubator that helped NordVPN in its early days. While the Tesonet-NordVPN relationship was already known, the ties between Tesonet and Surfshark had been previously undisclosed. That changed last week after a report at Lithuanian news site Verslo zinios.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Surfshark merging vpn trend

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NordVPN and Surfshark announce merger

Major VPN providers Surfshark and Nord Security are merging, according to a blog post from both companies. The merger is one of a number of consolidations within the VPN market, much of which is already controlled by Kape Technologies, Tesonet, and Ziff Davis.

Terms of the merger were not disclosed but the two companies spent months negotiating before making the announcement. The two companies will operate as separate entities “relying on separate infrastructures and different product development plans.”

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In a statement, Surfshark founder and CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis defended the VPN market’s worrisome consolidation, arguing that it indicated “the industry’s maturity.”

“Consolidations in the global consumer cybersecurity market indicate the industry’s maturity,” Kaziukonis said.

“They also bring new competitive challenges. Nord Security and Surfshark joining forces will set the ground to scale in different digital security dimensions, which is necessary to meet the growing requirements of our customers.”

The companies argued that they never intended to “be only a VPN” and that both offer different products despite overlaps between the tools they sell.

“Nothing changes concerning our brands, infrastructure, company management, employees, and product development. The idea behind the deal is to align on a tactical level in reaching mutual goals while keeping the autonomy of our operations,” the companies said.

“This strategic business move will serve as a springboard towards more rapid development and innovation while maintaining the uniqueness of both brands that customers learned to appreciate over many years.”

Nord Security co-founder Tom Okman said the companies believe the VPN industry requires “radical” simplification and ease of access for consumers and businesses.

Neither company is changing its Terms of Service or Privacy Policy. The merger drew scrutiny from market watchers who noted that Surfshark was developed with the help of Tesonet, the same Lithuanian business incubator that helped NordVPN in its early days. The companies initially denied any connections before the merger was announced.

In September, Kape Technologies bought ExpressVPN for $936 million. Kape Technologies previously bought VPN companies ZenMate and Cyberghost.