Is Bill Gates looking to buy some Opera for Christmas? The rumors are loudly rumbling that Microsoft is looking to bolster its browser technology by acquiring Opera, the third most-popular Web browser behind IE and Firefox. In theory, the deal makes sense because it will give Microsoft access to Opera's technology, which, in many ways, if superior to IE. It could - and I stress could - help Microsoft put a stop to the decline in IE's market share declines. As important, it would give Microsoft a stronger foothold in the mobile browser market where Opera has been thriving recently as it looks for growth beyond the desktop. On the other hand, a Microsoft-Opera deal would come as a surprise because Opera has worked so hard to establish itself in the browser market. The Norwegian company seems on the verge of participating in a vibrant and competitive browser market with the emergence of Firefox and new entrants such as Flock. At the same time, Opera has a pretty tight relationship with Google and it generates several million dollars by sending traffic to Google's search engine. As a result, it makes you wonder if Google would step into the fray and purchase Opera to create the much anticipated G-browser. What do you think Bill Gates would have to say if Google trumped him again in the wake of the $1-billion Google investment in AOL? The big questions facing Opera is: why sell and why sell to Microsoft? Perhaps money talks but it would be shame to see Opera disappear given the more competition there is in the browser better, the more likely we will see more innovation.
Update: One more thought about an Opera-Microsoft marriage. There is a history of animosity between the two companies over Microsoft's decision to make some MSN sites look bad if you were using Opera. When Opera threatened a lawsuit last year, Microsoft made it disappear with a $12-million payment.
For some other views on Opera-Microsoft, check out Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg and Mathew Ingram.