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Apollo to take 11% in Dish TV via GDR
MUMBAI: US-based Apollo Management will take a 11 per cent stake in the expanded equity of Dish TV, marking its first media investment in India.
Apollo will pump in $100 million to subscribe to Dish TV‘s GDR (Global Depositary Receipt) issue. Dish TV has priced its GDR at Rs 39.80 per share of Re 1 each.
Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that Dish TV would be going in for a GDR issue as it plans to raise up to $200 million to fund its expansion programme.
“Dish TV will issue 117.03 million equity shares in the form of 117,035 GDRs, at a price of $ 854.5 per GDR (with each GDR representing 1,000 equity shares of Re 1 each), aggregating $100 million,” the company said.
The deal is expected to settle on 30 November, subject to customary closing conditions.
Says Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel, “Apollo has a strong track record of investing in growing businesses, especially in the media sector, and with their investment, Dish TV will be well capitalised to build on its market leadership and pursue its ambitious business objectives.”
Dish TV has an aggressive target of mopping up 2.5 million subscribers this fiscal. But with the fund raising in place, the DTH operator hopes to up its earlier target of having eight million subscribers by FY‘10.
Apollo Management has approximately $50 billion in assets under management, in private equity and credit-oriented capital markets invested across a core group of industries where it has considerable knowledge and resources. Apollo’s recent and current investments in the media and satellite space include Hughes Network Systems, Intelsat, Sirius Satellite Radio, CableCom and UnityMedia.
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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.
