Applications
Promoters offload 9 per cent in Dish TV to raise Rs 4.45 billion
MUMBAI: Essel Group promoters have offloaded nine per cent stake in Dish TV to a few institutional investors to raise Rs 4.45 billion (approximately $106 million). The capital raised will be used to fund the expansion plans of Zee‘s demerged distribution companies, Dish TV and Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL). The bulk of the investments will be towards customer acquisition including the subsidy towards set-top boxes (STBs). |
The promoters have placed 38.4 million shares of Dish TV with 6-7 institutional investors. With this, their holding will drop to 58 per cent. Out of the block deals, 85 per cent has been placed with foreign institutional investors. |
The placement was done by Enam Securities. “We are happy to have as our shareholders institutional investors who have a long-term perspective about DishTV’s future prospect and growth. With this fund raising, our objective was to provide funds to both Dish TV and WWIL for their expansion plans. Subsequently, both these companies would raise financing through fresh issuance of equity capital,” says Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra. Meanwhile, Dish TV ended its maiden trading day down at Rs 102.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after having opened at Rs 120. The scrip touched a high of Rs 120 and a low of Rs 100 during the day. Based on the closing price, Dish TV‘s market capitalisation works out to Rs 44 billion ($1 billion). The direct-to-home (DTH) service provider is targeting a subscriber base of 10 million by 2010. The company claims to currently have over 1.9 million subscribers. Essel Group runs key businesses which include Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Zee News Limited, WWIL, Dish TV, news daily DNA and Essel Propack. |
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.
