Opera sold to China – Aftenposten

An initial agreement on the Chinese purchase of Opera Software was approved by 90 percent of shareholders earlier this summer.

Here stated that the company should be sold for $ 1.2 billion.

last week it became known that the purchase was stopped by the authorities in a “not set country,” according to Dagens Næringsliv. The deadline for the offer went out on July 15, and the acquisition was not completed.

The parties have entered into an option agreement to sell about a quarter of the company’s assets for $ 600 million, or 5, 1 billion Norwegian kroner, writes Dagens Næringsliv.

– we have worked very hard to land the original offer, and is naturally disappointed that we did not succeed in that, writes communications director Karin Greve- Isdahl Opera in an e-mail to Aftenposten.

– that said, we believe that the new agreement is good for both shareholders and employees.

Asked whether it has been a difficult process, Opera no comment.

Will be renamed

– Opera will this agreement be split in two. “CONSUMER section” will be sold and thus become part of a larger Chinese group with significant financial muscle. This section will keep the name Opera, says Greve Isdahl.

The remaining business will remain listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and after some time get a new name.

The part that is sold out stands for around a quarter of the Opera’s overall values ​​and Count-Isdahl think the good strategic fit into the Chinese business.

• Opera does best in Norway to use social media. The Aftenposten wrote in June.

It is perhaps the least known company among those who are inside the top ten, commented Heine Stangeby in Coxit

No consequences for Norwegian employees

CEO Lars Boilesen, Opera Software will continue to be the boss of the entire company until December 31. After that he will no longer have responsibility for consumer section.

The 550 employees who work under the part of the company that is now sold, will continue in their jobs as before, according to Dagens Nærigsliv. 1,050 employees will continue to work in the remaining company.

According to Greve-Isdahl will not the Norwegian employees notice any major changes in their everyday work.

– Oslo will continue to be headquarters for “consumer part” and the staff will sit together as before, she said.

Valleys on the Oslo stock exchange

Opera fell 15 percent on the Oslo stock exchange early Monday morning . Thus, the company is valued at 7.45 billion, while the original sales agreement estimated value of over 10 billion.

Analyst Sigrid Wilt Slørstad Nordea believes the market needs some time to digest the news that the original agreement did not go through, and that it instead is an alternative arrangement to the bank.

– it is not certain the new agreement as “bad” that the price drop would suggest, but the stock market like rare to get surprises. The worst stock market knows is uncertainty, says Slørstad.

Opera would not comment on the share price.

• Christian Thommessen spent the first part of his career at to build a fortune, including through the development of technology, Opera Software.

Now he earns money on the poor through small projects, we wrote when we followed him on travel to Africa.