Opera, maker of the web browser and various other technologies, confirmed they have received an acquisition offer that places the value of the company at approximately $1.2 billion USD. The offer comes from a consortium of Chinese companies including Kunlun, Qihoo 360, Golden Brick and Yonglian. The offer amount represents a premium of 53 percent above Opera’s trading price before the announcement was made.
Opera CEO Lars Boilesen thinks the company should accept the buyout offer and had this to say,
“There is strong strategic and industrial logic to the acquisition of Opera by the Consortium. The Consortium’s ownership will strengthen Opera’s position to serve our users and partners with even greater innovation and to accelerate our plans of expansion and growth.”
The Chinese companies that comprise the Consortium appear to be excited at the opportunity to acquire Opera’s brand and technology and see it as a way to continue to grow on a global basis. Although the Opera browser is probably the company’s the most well-known product, Opera has been making inroads in recent years with their advertising network and data compression, notably in the video compression space. Video continues to be a big factor in how consumers use their mobile devices, so that could be a lucrative market for Opera to be in.
The purchase by the Chinese Consortium will have to be approved by Opera shareholders and several government entities will weigh in as well. No timeline has been announced yet, but more details should be available later today as Opera is scheduled to release their earnings report and should discuss the buyout offer.
source: Re/code
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