Chinese companies want to buy Opera

[lautrepay]

... for $1.2 billion.

[webfork]

... for $1.2 billion.

Looks like it's a done-deal. Anyway, no big surprise here. A Norwegian company selling when the Norwegian economy is slowing down, there's been rumors as far back as 2012 (that I could find).

The real downside is that the browser itself is still just following Google's lead. Real innovation in that space doesn't appear to be happening. Say what you will about various moves by Firefox over the past two years (Hello, Pocket, Firefox OS, WebRT, etc.) at least they're throwing something at users. I have no idea what Opera is doing and their changelog seems to be just a series of minor updates that could just as easily have come from new Chromium builds.

Big shrug.

[JohnTHaller]

This is a bit worrying in the context of China's internet behavior as of late. It's well known now that China used the Great Firewall to alter Baidu scripts to create a worldwide DDoS on Github last year to try to force Github to take two projects down (one to get around the Chinese firewall, one to allow those behind the firewall to read the New York Times uncensored). Using software that is updated from within China or has an always on connection loading content from China carries a similar security risk.

[joby_toss]

And their blog entry:
http://www.opera.com/blogs/desktop/2016 ... computers/

Finally, Opera will get its well deserved rest...

[tactictoe]

And their blog entry:
http://www.opera.com/blogs/desktop/2016 ... computers/

Finally, Opera will get its well deserved rest...

Interesting blog, sad it had come to that. I used Opera in the past as a major alternative to IE, before that Netscape and Now Mozilla Firefox... at least the last one permits you to add some real good add-on and eventually create some yourself you can add on too. Feel sorry for a team that tried to do the right thing but cannot support itself anymore and forced to sell what was a mile stone in the Internet History. Sad story, but it happens too often with little company or small developer who are trying to battle giant and offering for free product and software... Lesson taken; if someone is asking for donation and the freeware worth it why so small amount of us are not donating even they are using the software everyday? I do agree that if you want money you need to go commercial; it does not explain the lack of donation to small developer who cannot afford to go commercial. I never asked for donation myself when I share a freeware with the community but it's just me. Why? I do not need it, I create software to keep my skill high or to fulfill a need of mine. But this is another debate. Point is: Opera had no more fund and its huge fan list can cry as much as they like... their fault to not support earlier what they liked (not even now it's officially announced on Opera's blog). On top most some of the fan ask the source to be released. What a so horrible egoistic request... Too late for regret is the point, it's sold or close to, they had no other choice and at least they get some fruits back from their labour. I also respect the company to make this decision public, must has been harsh to take such decision. That is MHO only of course.

[SYSTEM]

... for $1.2 billion.

Looks like it's a done-deal. Anyway, no big surprise here. A Norwegian company selling when the Norwegian economy is slowing down, there's been rumors as far back as 2012 (that I could find).

The real downside is that the browser itself is still just following Google's lead. Real innovation in that space doesn't appear to be happening. Say what you will about various moves by Firefox over the past two years (Hello, Pocket, Firefox OS, WebRT, etc.) at least they're throwing something at users. I have no idea what Opera is doing and their changelog seems to be just a series of minor updates that could just as easily have come from new Chromium builds.

Big shrug.

Where I'd really like to see "innovation" is the user interface. I want features like ability to move toolbars around, visual tabs, tab stacking and MDI (and Opera had all those features before being rewritten in version 15). But all the major browsers (Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Firefox) have almost exactly the same simplistic UI. The only real difference between them is support for modern web technologies, where Chrome and Opera have the lead.

Luckily Otter and Vivaldi exist and attempt to mimic the old Opera UI. I'm looking forward to Vivaldi in particular.

And their blog entry:
http://www.opera.com/blogs/desktop/2016 ... computers/

Finally, Opera will get its well deserved rest...

Interesting blog, sad it had come to that. I used Opera in the past as a major alternative to IE, before that Netscape and Now Mozilla Firefox... at least the last one permits you to add some real good add-on and eventually create some yourself you can add on too. Feel sorry for a team that tried to do the right thing but cannot support itself anymore and forced to sell what was a mile stone in the Internet History. Sad story, but it happens too often with little company or small developer who are trying to battle giant and offering for free product and software... Lesson taken; if someone is asking for donation and the freeware worth it why so small amount of us are not donating even they are using the software everyday? I do agree that if you want money you need to go commercial; it does not explain the lack of donation to small developer who cannot afford to go commercial. I never asked for donation myself when I share a freeware with the community but it's just me. Why? I do not need it, I create software to keep my skill high or to fulfill a need of mine. But this is another debate. Point is: Opera had no more fund and its huge fan list can cry as much as they like... their fault to not support earlier what they liked (not even now it's officially announced on Opera's blog). On top most some of the fan ask the source to be released. What the... Too late for regret is the point, it's sold they had no other choice and at least they get some fruits back from their labour. That is MHO only of course.

Opera Software is not in any financial trouble.

By offering to buy Opera for $1.2 billion or 10.3 billion Norwegian Kroner, the group is essentially valuing the company at around NOK71 per share. That's 53 or so percent higher than Opera's closing price on February 4th, before rumors of a buyout started going around.

Opera Software is worth almost 800 million dollars. The Opera Software board of directors recommends shareholders to sell the company for two reasons:

• Opera Software is looking for a buyer, the company wants to be privately owned.
• Kunlun Tech and Qihoo 360 offer much more than the company is worth.

[tactictoe]

Opera Software is not in any financial trouble.

I sincerely thought they were in trouble. Oh well what I said still apply to company or individual developer in trouble for lack of support.
Here in this case it sounds like: 'Business is business'. Too bad for the fan then and sorry for them. Still asking for the source of opera in the middle of a deal is an egoistic reaction to me. Sad they are selling anyway.

Have all a nice day.

[joby_toss]

The source someone asked for was the old Opera Presto one, as I recall.

[tactictoe]

The source someone asked for was the old Opera Presto one, as I recall.

Does it matter? If a company or an author does not want to make public the source of their/his software, why asking for it? If the old Opera source had to be public, they would be already on the net long time ago. It might also mean part of the old code in use in the new one, should be no surprise.

[webfork]

The source someone asked for was the old Opera Presto one, as I recall.

Unless something's changed (and I don't think it has) whether or not they'll open their code has mostly been answered:

"We support open source in that we offer a better browser for Linux," Opera CTO Håkon Wium Lie told me in a recent meeting at the InfoWorld offices, "but we haven't found a business model that allows us to go fully open source." [source]

I think this includes the "Presto" browser since, if the code was picked up and took off in some format, they might end up competing with their own work. Additionally:

Opera has licensed Presto to a some other companies for use in other products, and those continue to return license revenue to Opera. Such licenses probably limit what Opera can do with Presto in terms of making it public to the licensee's competitors. [source]

[SYSTEM]

The takeover failed, and the consortium is trying again: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opera ... SKCN0ZY0CA

A $1.2 billion takeover of Opera Software by a group of Chinese internet firms fell through on Monday after failing to get regulatory approval in time, sending the Norwegian browser firm's shares to a seven-month low.

The deal needed a green light from the United States and China, and one firm in the Chinese consortium said U.S. privacy concerns would have led to an investigation into some of Opera's products that risked delaying the acquisition for up to a year.

Opera and the Chinese group have instead come up with an alternative deal worth $600 million which strips out some products and services in a bid to overcome regulatory hurdles.

The so-called Kunqi consortium, which includes online and mobile games distributor Beijing Kunlun Tech Co and search and security business Qihoo 360 Technology Co, will now buy certain parts of Opera's consumer business.

It will acquire Opera's mobile phone and desktop computer browser business, its performance and privacy apps division, its technology licensing business, as well as its stake in Chinese joint venture nHorizon.