Applications
Citigroup’s You Telecom gets FIPB nod for 49 per cent buy in cable company
MUMBAI: Private equity funds are eyeing investment opportunities into cable networks in India. Citigroup Venture Capital International-owned You Telecom India Pvt Ltd wants to acquire up to 49 per cent stake in a cable TV company. “We are looking at acquisition opportunities and are in talks with some cable networks but nothing has been finalised yet,” says You Telecom CEO EVS Chakravarthy. You Telecom has recently got approval from the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) to “make downstream investment up to 49 per cent in an Indian company engaged in the cable network business.” |
Citigroup had acquired 85 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based broadband company from British Gas in 2006. Bennett & Coleman Company Ltd (BCCL), the holding company of the Times of India, picked up a five per cent stake in You Telecom last month. You Telecom is exploring opportunities to launch a Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) platform and recently made a presentation to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on alternate ways of digitisation. “We see opportunity in the digital cable segment because of conditional access system (Cas). HITS could be an option for us,” says Chakravarthy. You Telecom (earlier Iqara Broadband under British Gas) has pumped in Rs 4 billion towards the broadband business and has 145000 subscribers spread over 11 cities across the country. The company has a turnover of Rs 800 million. |
You Telecom (which holds the ISP licence) will be merged into You Broadband Networks India Pvt Ltd (holds IP licence) as part of the restructuring. You Broadband Networks would, thus, become an operating-cum-holding company. “We expect to complete the conversion process in the next 2-4 weeks,” says Chakravarthy. Citigroup Venture Capital International launched a $1.6 billion fund in 2005 to make private equity investments, primarily in companies seeking to profit from the growth in India, Greater China (particularly in the People‘s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and emerging Europe. Among the cable companies, Zee Group‘s Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) is listed and has expressed intent to rope in a minority investor. Rajan Raheja-promoted Asianet Satellite Communications, Kerala‘s largest multi-system operator (MSO), is in talks with US private equity giant Providence for diluting a minority stake but sources say no conclusive agreement has been reached. Raheja also owns Hathway Cable & Datacom where Star Group bought a 26 per cent stake. |
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.
