Norway based browser company Opera has got approval from its shareholders for a $1.2 billion buyout offer from a consortium of Chinese Internet firms including Kunlun and Qihoo 360, TechCrunch reported; both firms are backed investment funds including Golden Brick and Yonglian. Opera’s had secured the deal from the Chinese Consortium in February Today the company announced that it “has received acceptances of the Offer for in total 132,911,316 shares in the Company representing approximately 90.6% of the outstanding share capital and 90.9% of the votes in the Company.” However, this is a preliminary approximated count; the final deal will be closed after relevant approval from Norway and Chinese authorities. Opera has been looking for a buyer since August 2015, after their earnings collapsed due to a steady loss of browser marketshare, and slowing advertising sales. Last year, before the Chinese deal was approved, the company was said to be working with Morgan Stanley International and ABG Sundal Collier to help with the finding an acquirer. Opera’s falling browser shares Globally, Opera’s stands last among the top 5 desktop browsers along with a mere 1.85% share as of May 2016 which dropped from 2.2% in December 2015. Among the top 9 mobile browsers globally, Opera ranks 4th with a 11.19% overall share as of May 2016. Opera’s mobile browser share dropped from 13.06% in September 2015—the highest since January 2015(9.55%). In addition, in the Indian market, Opera’s mobile browser has been steadily losing out to UC Browser since July 2015…
