Brands
Give a missed call and join HUL’s fight against corruption
MUMBAI: In 2011, when Anna Hazare led the anti-corruption movement along with the likes of Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, the country fed up of the ailment joined in the momentum as well.
People, especially youngsters, wanting a better India, didn’t hesitate to step out of their comfort zone and take the matter in their hands.
Be it a metro or a small village, corruption can be seen everywhere. This anti-social element is not only killing India’s value system, ethical codes and moral chains but also the economy. To counter it, many including brands are doing their bit to change the system.
Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) Cannes Lions winner, Kan Khajura Tesan, has undertaken an initiative that will take the fight against corruption to every Indian’s doorstep. Since the issue strikes a chord with every Indian, the anticipated response might go on to create a world record.
This independence day week, Kan Khajura Tesan aims to set a world record by getting as many missed calls as possible in 120 hours from the people of India on its toll free number 1800-30-000-123. To pledge against corruption, the audience has to give a missed call on the number from their mobile phones. In return, Kan Khajura Tesan will donate Re 1 for every 100 missed calls received between 13 August and 17 August to the National Anti Corruption Investigation Bureau. Once the consumer gives a missed call to Kan Khajura Tesan, in a few seconds the consumer will receive a call back from the channel to confirm their participation in the endeavour to set a world record along with 20 minutes of free entertainment.
Hindustan Unilever vice president Priya Nair said, “Kan Khajura Tesan is one of India’s biggest, free and on-demand radio channels with over 1.4 crore subscribers and more than 25 crore minutes of radio engagement. With this initiative, we want to use this powerful platform to drive a social change. The initiative of pledging against corruption has never been attempted at this level anywhere in the world yet, and with the support of Indians we want to create a record of which every Indian can be proud.”
Kan Khajura Tesan, the country’s first free and on-demand entertainment mobile radio channel owned by HUL was launched in October 2013 in Bihar and Jharkhand and the service was expanded in August 2014 across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
