M&A Activity • Dec 20, 2016
M&A Activity
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Opera divests its connected TV business
Opera Software ASA ("Opera" or the "Company") entered 19 December 2016 into an
agreement to sell a majority stake in its TV business ("Opera TV") to Moore
Frères & Company ("Moore Frères"), a US based investment firm focused
exclusively on the tech, media, telecom industries (the "Transaction"). The
Transaction values Opera TV to an enterprise value of USD 114.3m. Opera will
remain as a minority shareholder in Opera TV by rolling over a part of its
equity stake. The purchase price consists of a cash consideration of USD 80m and
preferred shares equivalent to 30% of Opera TV's common equity (not adjusted for
management option program). The Transaction will not trigger taxation for Opera
Software ASA.
Closing of the Transaction took place simultaneously with the entering into of
the agreement and all conditions for completion have therefore been fulfilled,
including the payment of the cash consideration of USD 80m.
Opera TV is the market leader in enabling the TV industry's transition to OTT,
delivering the most widely deployed HTML5 platform to over 60 customers. The
Opera TV product portfolio powers rich web experiences on over 40 million
connected devices each year, including Smart TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc
players and game consoles. Its customer base includes market leaders, such as
Sony, Samsung, TiVo, Verizon and Sagemcom. Opera TV has operated as a separate
business unit since 2013, and reported 2015 revenue of USD 31.4m and USD 20.3m
for the first nine months of 2016. Opera TV's reported adjusted EBITDA for the
first 9 months of 2016 was USD 9.0m. Headquartered in Norway, Opera TV currently
has about 180 employees located across 14 countries, including Sweden, Poland,
USA, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Brazil.
Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software ASA, said, "Moore Frères has impressive TMT
and operational expertise that will help Opera TV expand its offering and serve
a broader array of customers worldwide,". "The Opera TV business has significant
potential to drive continued innovation and unlock the full potential of the
connected TV. We are pleased to retain a minority stake in order to benefit
from the company's continued growth and success."
Aneesh Rajaram, General Manager of the Opera TV business unit, will continue to
lead the business as Opera TV's CEO post Transaction.
As previously communicated, Opera targets a net cash/debt position of zero and
will use proceeds from this Transaction to pay out an extraordinary dividend in
connection with Opera's 2017 Annual General Meeting.
Transaction and financial highlights:
· Opera received an upfront amount of USD 80 million in cash at the close of
the Transaction
· ? Opera has rolled over a part of its ownership in Opera TV. Opera has
received a class of preferred shares at closing that, at Opera's discretion,
can be converted to 30% ownership in Opera TV's common equity (not adjusted for
management option program)
· ? The Transaction has customary net working capital and net debt
adjustment mechanisms
· ? Moore Frères and Opera have entered into a customary shareholder
agreement for the joint ownership of Opera TV
· ? Morgan Stanley Senior Fund and Morgan Stanley Credit Partners
provided financing to Moore Frères & Company.
Type of transaction: The Transaction is a divestment of Opera's business unit
Opera TV.
Description of the business having been divested:
Opera TV is the market leader in enabling the TV industry's transition to OTT,
delivering the most widely deployed HTML5 platform to over 60 customers. The
Opera TV product portfolio powers rich web experiences on over 40 million
connected devices each year, including Smart TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc
players and game consoles. Its customer base includes market leaders, such as
Sony, Samsung, TiVo, Verizon and Sagemcom. Opera TV has operated as a separate
business unit since 2013, and reported 2015 revenue of USD 31.4m and USD 20.3m
for the first nine months of 2016. Opera TV's reported adjusted EBITDA for the
first 9 months of 2016 was USD 9.0m. Headquartered in Norway, Opera TV currently
has about 180 employees located across 14 countries, including Sweden, Poland,
USA, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Brazil.
The following table summarizes Opera TV's revenue 2013-2015 and 9M 2016:
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
|(USDm) |2013|2014|2015|9M 2015|9M 2016|
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
|Revenue |18.3|24.7|31.4|23.0 |20.3 |
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
|Gross profit |n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|22.2 |20.3 |
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
|Adjusted EBITDA|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|12.8 |9.0 |
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
|Normalized EBIT|n.a.|n.a.|n.a.|11.9 |7.6 |
+---------------+----+----+----+-------+-------+
The Company did not report Gross Profit, Adjusted EBITDA or Normalized EBIT for
the Opera TV segment prior to Q3 2016. Annual revenue figures for 2013-2015 are
reported as Device OEMs in Opera Software ASA's annual reports.
Agreements with senior employees or members of the board: Opera has a retention
agreement with Aneesh Rajaram, Opera TV's CEO. Aneesh Rajaram is entitled to a
cash bonus in the event of a sale of Opera TV and to stay-on in his current
position in Opera TV post the Transaction. Opera does not have any agreements in
place with members of the board outside of standard non-competition and non
-solicitation agreements.
Carnegie acted as financial advisor to Opera in relation to the Transaction.
Advokatfirmaet Schjødt acted as legal advisor to Opera in relation to the
Transaction.
For further information, please contact:
Petter Lade, Investor Relations
Tel: +47 2369 2400
About Opera:
Opera holds shares in several different businesses, including Opera
Mediaworks/AdColony which helps publishers monetize their content through
advertising and advertisers reach the audiences that build value for their
businesses, capitalizing on a global consumer audience reach that exceeds 1
billion; Opera Apps and Games (Bemobi); "Performance & Privacy" (Skyfire and
Surfeasy); and Opera TV.
About Moore Frères & Company:
Moore Frères & Company is a New York-based investment holding company that
primarily focuses on acquiring companies across the global technology, media and
telecommunications (TMT) sector. Founded in 2014, the Company invests in TMT
assets with the intention of perpetual ownership, which provides continuity to
position complex businesses for long-term growth in the rapidly changing
connected economy. Moore Frères & Company utilizes deep digital, line
management, business development, and financial expertise to uncover and unlock
transformative growth opportunities. The Company's approach offers the best of
both financial and strategic investors with limited daily involvement on
operational matters while leveraging deep sector insights, industry
relationships, and strategy experience to grow enterprise value in its
businesses.
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