MAM
Quasar consolidates under GroupM
MUMBAI: GroupM has joined hands with Quasar to build an integrated digital media agency network.
As per the deal, Quasar will align its media units, Quasar BMS and Blazar, under GroupM Interactions management.
The consolidated agency network will now include the existing brands of both the businesses – Mindshare, Motivator, Maxus, MEC, Quasar BMS and Blazar.
There will not be any change of leadership for Quasar and Blazar. The two agency brands will continue to run independently, but will report to GroupM Interactions head Tushar Vyas.
They will also report to an operating board constituting senior leadership from both Quasar & GroupM.
The alignment will control a major share of India’s digital marketing spends with capability in Social, Creative, Search and Mobile.
Quasar BMS and Blazar are the digital media business units within Quasar. Recently, Quasar TWS, which is the Technology and web solutions unit, was aligned to Possible Worldwide.
The International Business Group (IBG), which is the global digital production unit, has been re-christened as Quasar Primo and will continue to focus on creative and technology development for international clients in partnership with different networks of WPP and direct clients.
GroupM CEO South Asia Vikram Sakhuja said, “For GroupM consolidation and leverage are our two mantras. We have been successfully managing several independent media agencies for some years. As the world goes more digital we see tremendous synergies by now aligning Quasar BMS and Blazar into the rest of our digital business. Together we will bring best of class end to end capability in Paid, Owned and Earned parts of Digital Media.”
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.
