Chinese fund offers $1.2 billion for Opera web browser company

Large shareholders representing nearly 33 per cent of the company's shares have agreed to accept the offer, the company said

Norway's Opera Software, which makes the popular Opera web browser, said today that China's Golden Brick Silk Road investment fund had offered 10.5 billion kroner ($1.2 billion) to buy the company.

The Opera board unanimously recommended the offer, saying that at 71 kroner per share, it represents a 56-per cent premium on the average price over the last 30 days.

The company had made no secret of its desire to find a buyer and its shares were suspended on the Oslo stock exchange on Friday pending an announcement.

Large shareholders representing nearly 33 per cent of the company's shares have agreed to accept the offer, Opera said in its statement on Wednesday.
 
The light, quick Opera browser is the fifth most used in the world, behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple's Safari.