Applications
Hinduja group’s Amas Mauritius gets 5.1% stake in IMCL
MUMBAI: Amas Mauritius, a Hinduja group company, now owns 5.1 per cent equity stake in the country’s leading multi-system operator (MSO) IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL).
The Hindujas, thus, up their controlling stake in IMCL.
Amas acquired the stake on conversion of 74.15 million 12 per cent cumulative redeemable preference shares of IMCL it held. The conversion was done at a price of Rs 145 per share (Rs 10 face value plus Rs 135 premium per share), following approval by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and its shareholders.
The conversion of the preference shares into equity shares resulted in Hinduja Ventures Ltd’s (HVL) stake in IMCL falling to 61.17 per cent from 65.78 per cent. HVL’s businesses include the MSO business, investments and treasury and real estate, but more than 80 per cent of the revenues come from the MSO business.
The shares of HVL closed at Rs 483 per share, down 1.56 per cent in a flat market, on Monday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The MSO’s profit before tax in the second quarter ended 30 September narrowed to Rs 199.9 million from Rs 313.1 million in the first quarter on rise in expenditure on account of digitisation. Its income in the second quarter rose to Rs 1.36 billion from Rs 1.51 billion a quarter earlier.
The amount of capital deployed by HVL in the MSO business increased to Rs 3.96 billion from Rs 3.76 billion in the previous quarter.
Commenting on the performance of IMCL in the second quarter, HVL whole-time director Ashok Mansukhani said the advent of compulsory digitisation will help bring transparency in subscription numbers almost fivefold and help improve the top line and bottom line of the company.
The government has mandated digitisation in 38 more cities by 31 March 2013, after switching to digital delivery of cable TV in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata from 1 November. The revised deadline for switchover to digital delivery in Chennai is likely to be decided by the Madras High Court on Tuesday (tomorrow) after taking into consideration inputs from all the stakeholders.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
