MAM
Shamsuddin Jasani gets additional responsibility for Isobar Consulting south Asia
NEW DELHI: Isobar group managing director – south Asia Shamsuddin Jasani has been given the additional responsibility for Isobar Consulting south Asia. He will head the division that was launched earlier this year to respond to the demand for customer-centric solutions to drive growth.
Dentsu announced the launch of Isobar Consulting earlier in July 2020. The agency helps brands define their digital transformation strategies and construct roadmaps to unlock their business growth. Isobar Consulting is led by Priyanka Agrawal as country head. Additionally, the agency had also appointed Rahul Vengalil as chief business officer. Both Agrawal and Vengalil had been reporting to Jasani, who will continue to be based out of Mumbai.
Jasani launched Isobar in August 2008 in India. Over the course of 12 years, he has transformed it into one of the biggest digital agencies in the country. Today, Isobar India is catering to brands across different genres.
He has over 20 years of experience in the digital industry and has worked for brands such as Mediaturf Worldwide and Hungama Digital in the past.
Brands
Flipkart completes reverse flip to India ahead of IPO
Walmart-owned e-commerce giant shifts domicile from Singapore to Bengaluru
MUMBAI: Flipkart has completed its restructuring to move its parent company from Singapore back to India, marking a key milestone as the Walmart-owned marketplace prepares for a potential initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges, ET reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The move, often referred to as a “reverse flip”, relocates the company’s legal home to India and aligns its corporate structure more closely with its largest market. It also clears an important regulatory step for Flipkart as it explores listing plans.
As part of the restructuring, several Singapore-based entities have been merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which will now serve as the main holding company for the entire group.
The consolidation brings a number of major businesses directly under the Indian parent company. These include fashion platform Myntra, logistics arm Ekart, travel booking platform Cleartrip, healthcare marketplace Flipkart Health, and fintech venture Super.money.
Under the new structure, global investors including Walmart, Microsoft, SoftBank, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will hold their stakes directly in the Indian entity rather than through an overseas holding company.
The redomiciliation required approval from the Indian government because Chinese technology company Tencent owns around a 5 to 6 per cent stake in Flipkart. Under Press Note 3, investments from countries sharing a land border with India require prior government clearance.
Flipkart had already secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in December. With the latest clearance from the central government, the company has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the relocation, ET reported earlier.
Flipkart had originally shifted its holding structure to Singapore in 2011 to tap global capital more easily. However, as India’s capital markets have matured, several start-ups have begun returning their domiciles to the country ahead of public listings. Companies such as Razorpay, Groww, and Meesho have taken similar steps.
The company is now expected to move ahead with its IPO preparations and has begun early discussions with merchant bankers. According to people familiar with the matter, Flipkart could file its draft prospectus later this year, setting the stage for what may become one of the most closely watched listings in India’s e-commerce sector.
Flipkart has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018, when the US retail giant acquired a 77 per cent stake in the company for $16 billion in one of the largest e-commerce deals globally.
