Telefónica Europe business was rebranded to 'O2 Online' which continues in the UK as a mobile communications service provider tied to the O2 UK network. The Genie portal properties were rebranded O2 Active in UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and Genie Asia became O2 Asia. O2 Asia became a subsidiary of O2 UK for governance purposes. On 31 October 2005, O2 agreed to be taken over by Telefónica, a Spanish telecommunications company, with a cash offer of £17.7 billion, or £2 per share. According to the merger announcement, O2 retained its name and continued to be based in the United Kingdom,
O2 Global Network O2 Global Network O2 Global Network (O2 International Network for Sustainable Design, stylized as O Global Network) is an international network for people interested in sustainable design. The network is made up of the O2 Global Network foundation, regional hubs, local groups, liaisons and individuals (called O2's). It has currently more than 70 country contacts. O2 ("Oxygen") was founded in 1988 in Milan by Niels Peter Flint, Thierry Kazazian, Jorgi Scheicher, Jeremy Quinn and others. O2 Groups in Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom followed. Six years later (5 July 1994), Iris de Graaf and Willem Hanhart founded