MAM
Innovative International Acquisition Corp and Zoomcar announces effectiveness of registration statement on Form S-4
Mumbai: Innovative International Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: IOAC) (“IOAC”), a Cayman Island registered blank-check special purpose acquisition company, and Zoomcar, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Zoomcar”), an emerging market focused peer2peer car sharing company, are pleased to announce that IOAC’s registration statement on Form S-4, initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on 7 February 2023 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”), has been declared effective by the SEC. The Registration Statement was filed in connection with the proposed business combination between IOAC and Zoomcar, previously announced on 13 October 2022.
IOAC has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting of IOAC shareholders (the “IOAC Meeting”) to seek approval and adoption of the Merger Agreement among IOAC, Zoomcar and the other parties thereto and the transactions contemplated thereby (the “Transaction”), and other related matters, a key milestone in the business combination process.
IOAC’s shareholders of record as of the close of business on 20 September 2023, are entitled to receive notice of, to vote, and have their votes counted at the IOAC Meeting and any adjournment thereof. The joint proxy statement, prospectus and other relevant documents in connection with the proposed Transaction will be mailed to IOAC’s shareholders as of the record date. The Registration Statement containing the joint proxy statement and prospectus contains important information about the proposed Transaction, the Merger Agreement, and the proposals to be considered at the IOAC Meeting. The Registration Statement containing the joint proxy statement, prospectus, and proposals to be considered is available through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
The joint proxy statement also notifies Zoomcar stockholders of Zoomcar’s solicitation of written consents to the Merger Agreement and Transactions associated therewith. Zoomcar stockholders of record as of 30 September 2023 will be entitled to execute and deliver written consents and are encouraged to review the important information about the proposed Transaction contained in the proxy statement and written consent solicitation materials, in addition to the Registration Statement and IOAC’s other public filings available free of charge through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
IOAC CEO & chairman Mohan Ananda stated, “I am delighted to announce the SEC’s approval of the effectiveness of the S-4 registration statement. This significant milestone brings us one step closer to finalizing the merger transaction with Zoomcar, a leader in emerging markets as the largest car-sharing platform. With the explosion of emerging markets and the wave of global entrepreneurship, I am confident about Zoomcar’s bright future as a leading global mobility platform.”
Zoomcar CEO & co-founder Greg Moran commented, “We’re thrilled to announce this important milestone in our ongoing partnership with the IOAC team and we look forward to continuing the buildout of our peer2peer car sharing platform across our core emerging market geographies.”
The closing of the Transaction, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2023, is subject to approval by IOAC shareholders, Zoomcar stockholders and the other closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement. Upon closing of the Transaction, IOAC is expected to transfer by way of continuation out of the Cayman Islands and into the State of Delaware and be renamed Zoomcar Holdings, Inc., and will continue to operate under the Zoomcar management team, led by Greg Moran, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zoomcar. The combined company’s common stock is anticipated to be listed on NASDAQ under ticker symbol “ZCAR.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
