Opera Announces $30 Million Strategic Investment in StarMaker
05 November 2018 - 11:00PM
StarMaker is a fast-growing music-oriented social
media platform
Opera Limited (Nasdaq: OPRA), one of the world’s leading browser
providers and an influential player in the field of integrated
AI-driven digital content discovery and recommendation platforms,
today announced that it has completed a strategic investment in
StarMaker Inc., a fast-growing technology-driven social media
company focused on music and entertainment.
StarMaker enables users to record and share their
own music videos, collaborate with other musicians, connect with
other users and follow their idols on the social platform. The
company has a strong and engaged user base in emerging markets such
as India, Indonesia and the Middle East.
“We are excited to invest in StarMaker, as they are
one of the leading music-oriented social media platforms in
emerging markets,” says Frode Jacobsen, CFO of Opera. “StarMaker
complements our existing content platform Opera News, and we look
forward to take part in the company’s journey of both continued
product innovation and user growth.”
Opera’s strategic investment in StarMaker will lay
the foundation for opportunities for the two companies to leverage
each other’s strong brands and unique products to accelerate growth
and to capture shared opportunities.
Opera has invested US$30 million at a US$125
million pre-money valuation by purchasing preferred shares issued
by StarMaker, resulting in an ownership stake of 19.35%. As part of
the investment, Opera also obtained an option to increase its
ownership to 51% in the second half of the year 2020.
Following this investment, Mr. Yahui Zhou, chairman
of Opera’s Board of Directors and its CEO, will continue to hold
65.78% of the outstanding equity interests in StarMaker. Opera’s
Board of Directors obtained a valuation analysis from an
independent third-party investment bank prior to the approval of
this transaction.
About StarMaker
StarMaker is a fast growing, popular social media
platform with a focus on music and entertainment. In 2016,
StarMaker came under the control of Mr. Yahui Zhou. Today the
company has offices in several countries like the United States,
India and Hong Kong, and focuses on emerging markets like India,
Indonesia and the Middle-East. The StarMaker app lets you sing
karaoke, make your own covers of top songs from a large catalog, as
well as create and publish your own original music videos. The
StarMaker app makes it easy to edit top quality recordings with a
huge range of voice effects and share to make friends through
music. The application is a free download from Google Play and the
Apple App Store.
About Opera
Founded in 1995 in Norway, Opera delivers browsers
and AI-driven content delivery solutions to over 300 million people
worldwide. Opera is listed on Nasdaq under the OPRA ticker symbol.
Follow our news at http://blogs.opera.com/news/.
Safe harbor statement
This press release contains statements of a
forward-looking nature. These statements, including statements
relating to Opera and StarMaker’s future financial and operating
results, are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify
these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will,”
“expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates” and
similar statements. Among other things, management’s quotations and
any business outlook section contain forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties and are based on current expectations,
assumptions, estimates and projections about Opera, StarMaker and
the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties regarding Opera,
for example, include, but are not limited to, those relating to its
goals and strategies; its expected development and launch, and
market acceptance, of its products and services; its expectations
regarding demand for and market acceptance of our brand, platforms
and services; our expectations regarding growth in our user base
and level of engagement; its ability to attract, retain and
monetize users; its ability to continue to develop new technologies
and/or upgrade our existing technologies and quarterly variations
in its operating results caused by factors beyond its control and
global macroeconomic conditions and its potential impact in the
markets it has businesses. All information provided in this press
release is as of the date hereof, and Opera undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its
expectations, except as may be required by law. Although Opera
believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking
statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its
expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are
cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the
anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and
uncertainties faced by Opera is included in Opera’s filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
registration statement on Form F-1 filed in connection with its
initial public offering.
Investor Relations Contact:Allise
Furlaniinvestor-relations@opera.com or (+1)-212-331-8433
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