::::Opera would cost Facebook over $1 bln - analysts::::

<div class=&quot;custm_img_blk&quot;><img src=&quot;http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1338311760_temp.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; /></div><p>Opera Software (<span>OPERA.OL</span>) would cost Facebook (<span>FB.O</span>) over $1 billion as competition from Google (<span>GOOG.O</span>) and others could push up the price tag, analysts said on Tuesday, as takeover talk pushed the shares up as much as 26 percent on Tuesday.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Oslo-listed Opera, coveted for its advanced mobile phone software technology, would be a perfect fit for Facebook but the firm's business is also vital for some of the industry's biggest players so any bid is likely to attract others to the table.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;Opera would be sensible for Facebook on several levels,&quot; Arctic Securities said.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;It would enhance the now limited mobile experience of Facebook, improve Facebook's mobile monetization problem, help Facebook retain online game developers leaving the social network over the lack of a mobile platform and further improve Facebook's ability to target ads.&quot;</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Opera makes various web browsers that work across an array of platforms including mobile phones, tablets, PCs, and TVs.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>The software is available on most phones, including the iPhone and the BlackBerry, and works on various operating systems, including Android, giving Opera the reach Facebook is seeking.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>The browser can compress data by as much as 90 percent, saving consumers on data charges, and has the technology to better display ads, a key factor for Facebook which has struggled to convert its rapidly increasing traffic from mobile platforms to revenue.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Opera, which has about 200 million Mobile and Mini subscribers, has also built a significant market share in key emerging markets, such as India, Brazil and Asia, where Facebook has been generally weak.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>$1 BLN PLUS?</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>It would be such a perfect fit for Facebook, analysts said it would have to pay a hefty premium.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>DNB, Norway's top bank, said the price would have to be double Friday's closing level, or 68.6 crowns, valuing the firm at $1.35 billion, while Danske Bank and ABG Sundal Collier both predicted a price between 50 and 60 crowns a share, or between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>At 1139 GMT, the stock traded up 17.2 percent at 40.2 crowns a share, valuing the firm at around $800 million.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Opera officials have repeatedly declined to comment.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>However, Chief Executive Lars Boilesen last October said he would &quot;love to&quot; further cooperate with Facebook.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;We are already Facebook's platform of distribution in emerging markets like Africa and India. A big part of the Opera Mini traffic is from Facebook. So we are already their channel in these markets,&quot; he said in October.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;We would love to cooperate with Facebook, but the same goes for Google and everyone else. There are no limits here, because we are the leading mobile client in these markets,&quot; he added.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>OBSTACLES</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Still, several obstacles remain.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Opera founder and top shareholder Jon S. Von Tetzchner said the firm should focus on organic growth.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;I want Opera to focus on growth and delivering good results; there are big opportunities for Opera,&quot; Tetzchner, who holds 10.9 percent of Opera told Reuters. &quot;We have been promised 500 million users by 2013 and I think that's a good goal and the firm should keep going for it.&quot;</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;I personally think that an ARPU (average revenue per user) goal of $1 is even modest,&quot; he said. &quot;I am not pushing for a takeover.&quot;</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Tetzchner said he was not aware of a bid and had not decided how he would react to one but added it would be &quot;undemocratic&quot; for him to try to block it if others supported it.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Another obstacle could be Google, which has extensive relationships with Opera.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>&quot;A takeover by Facebook will likely send cold water down Google's spine,&quot; Arctic Securities said.</p><p style=&quot;margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px&quot;>Google is Opera's default search partner for Opera Mini and Opera Mobile worldwide outside Russia/CIS, making the firm a key relationship for Google.</p>

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