MAM
Carat ventures down south, opens office in Bangalore
MUMBAI: Continuing with its growth and expansion plans, Carat Media Services has launched its South operations with its regional office in Bangalore.
Joydeep Raha has been roped in to head the division.
Carat MD Kartik Iyer said, “We will work to delivering our unique integrated communications planning solutions to clients based in the region. We have over the past few years been working on consolidating our North and West operations and are now ready to present our suite of cutting edge solutions to clients from this crucial region.”
Iyer also confirmed that Raha will head the South outfit. “We couldn’t have found a better person than Joydeep who knows the region so well. He has over the past few years proven his ability in not only managing businesses but also continuously acquiring businesses,” he said.
Being in the south is very important to Carat as quite a few of its major clients including The Muthoot Group, Air Asia and Philips have interests in the region which require a very localised level of servicing.
“This development is in line with our focus to deliver micro market solutions to the best of our abilities to our clients and nothing could be better than having feet on the ground,” said Iyer.
Raha is a mechanical engineer and graduate from MICA. He has in the past worked with Bates, Enterprise Nexus and was with Lintas for the last eight years. During this period, he handled brands like Raymond. ABN AMRO 3M, Britannia, Jockey, BPL, Sanyo, Citizen Watches, Manappuram Finance ,Manappuram Jewellery, Metro Cash & Carry, Wockhardt and Infosys.
Raha said “I have had the opportunity to be exposed to some of Carat’s which have been very impressive to say the least. These tools and processes will definitely make a huge impact in the market and will all add up to delivering huge efficiencies to clients here. What is truly impressive is their Integrated solution capabilities they have developed so quickly in the market with each division being domain experts in their respective fields. I am very excited about taking these capabilities to the market in South and am certain that these capabilities combined with Carat’s global learnings and best practices can be harnessed most effectively towards providing highly effective communication solution to the clients here.”
Brands
Magnum Ice Cream Netherlands takes control of Kwality Wall’s India from Unilever
61.9 per cent stake transfer reshapes ownership as Unilever exits promoter role
MUMBAI: Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited has entered a new chapter, with The Magnum Ice Cream Company HoldCo 1 Netherlands B.V. acquiring a controlling 61.9 per cent stake from a clutch of Unilever PLC-led entities, marking a significant shift in ownership.
The transaction, completed on March 30, 2026, follows a share purchase agreement signed in June 2025. The incoming promoter picked up over 145 crore equity shares, effectively taking control of the company and being formally classified as its new promoter under regulatory norms.
As part of the deal, the outgoing promoter group, including Unilever Group Limited and its affiliated entities, has fully exited its shareholding in the company. They have now been reclassified from promoter to public shareholders, closing a long-standing association with the ice cream business in India.
The board of Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited took note of the ownership change and approved a series of leadership updates alongside it. Ritesh Tiwari stepped down as director, while Abhijit Bhattacharya was appointed as chairperson and additional non-executive director. Tahir Toloy Tanridagli also joined the board as an additional non-executive director.
The reshuffle signals a broader strategic reset as the Magnum-led entity looks to steer the brand’s next phase of growth in India. The transition has been carried out in line with regulatory requirements, including disclosures tied to the open offer and reclassification norms under market regulations.
With Unilever stepping back and Magnum stepping in, Kwality Wall’s India is effectively getting a fresh scoop of leadership and direction. The coming months will reveal how the new promoter plans to scale the brand in one of the world’s most competitive ice cream markets.
