Opera CFO denies Google acquisition rumor

Opera CFO Christian Jebsen has quashed the rumor that Google and Opera are in collusion talks. The rumor has doggedly persevered through blogs across the net, apparently having originated in ex-Yahoo Europe president Pierre Chappaz's blog. He writes, (translated from French), "According to a very well-informed source, Google is on the brink of purchasing the Opera browser." He accompanies it with a terrifying word assimilation: "operagle."

Considering that Google just announced new extensions for Firefox, that Google's search toolbar is integrated in the Firefox browser itself, and that Google is the default home page for Firefox, it's just absurd in my estimation that Google would trounce its high-profile relationship with Mozilla in order to purchase Opera. Much better to be a "hanger-on" for what is fast becoming the world's most adored Internet surf tool than to be the owner of a tech browser that most people outside of Slashdot have never heard of.

Thank you, Christian Jebsen, for humbly admitting that Google has no interest in acquiring the Opera organization. Also thank you, Joe Clark, for your honesty, "Google wants to get in bed with these people? I think not."