American security software company McAfee has acquired the Canadian VPN services provider TunnelBear. No financial details of the deal have been disclosed, but McAfee has said that it plans to incorporate TunnelBear’s tech into its own VPN service Safe Connect. TunnelBear will continue to operate and offer its services under its own brand.
“TunnelBear has built an engaging and profitable direct-to-consumer brand, and we’re confident this acquisition will serve both our end users and partners by embedding its best-in-class, hardened network into our Safe Connect product,” said Christopher Young, chief executive officer, McAfee, in a statement.
This is the second acquisition for McAfee after it spun out of Intel last year. Intel had originally bought McAfee back in 2011 and rebranded it to Intel Security. As of this point, Intel maintains 49% stake in the independent McAfee company with TPG Capital and Thoma Bravo holding the rest.
Established in 2011, TunnelBear has garnered a solid reputation for its VPN services.
“There are some good things to say about TunnelBear. When it comes to TunnelBear’s privacy policy, the company seems to respect your privacy,” writes TechCrunch. It is also one of the few companies that have completed a security audit with a third-party company.
TunnelBear offers two paid VPN plan worth $4.99/ month and $9.99/ month as well as a free plan, which is a good way to try the service. McAfee’s Safe Connect doesn’t have a free plan, but they have a seven-day trial available.