360 Sells Its Stake in Opera Browser: History, Market Impact, and Future Outlook

360 recently announced that its wholly‑owned subsidiary Qifei will repurchase the 46.75 million shares (about 20.3% of total equity) it holds in Opera Limited at $5.50 per ADS, a transaction worth $129 million, after which the company will no longer own any Opera shares.

Opera, launched in April 1995, was once a pioneering browser alongside IE and Firefox, introducing features such as fast dialing, tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, page scaling, and skins, many of which later became industry standards.

In its early years the product remained niche due to a paid‑for model and limited compatibility, but Opera Mini gained massive popularity on 2G phones thanks to its data‑compression technology.

With the advent of 3G/4G, cheaper data, and the rise of Android and iOS, Opera’s market share fell dramatically; by 2015 its global share dropped below 1.27% and the company faced losses.

In 2016, 360 invested $158 million to acquire a stake in Opera, later helping the browser regain traction in Europe, Africa, South‑Asia, and Southeast Asia, reaching over 322 million monthly active users by 2018.

However, strategic differences emerged: 360 now focuses on digital security, while Opera has shifted toward an internet information distribution platform, with declining profitability since 2019.

The divestiture is justified by divergent strategic focuses, the need to optimize assets, and to concentrate on core digital‑security businesses; the transaction still requires shareholder approval and remains subject to uncertainty.

Financial data shows that as of June 30 2022, Opera’s total assets were $10.54 billion, net assets $9.89 billion, with Q2 revenue of $77.8 million and a net loss of $5.84 million.

Images illustrating Opera’s historic UI and market position are included below: