Brands
Ugam rebrands as Merkle as part of integration strategy
Mumbai: Analytics and technology company Ugam on Friday announced that it is changing its name to Merkle as part of an integration plan following its acquisition by the performance marketing agency in 2019.
Part of dentsu International, Merkle is a leading customer experience management company that picked up a majority stake in Ugam to bring scale to its analytics’s business, provide a platform for dentsu’s and Merkle’s shared analytics services, and offer a complete and scaled analytics-based services layer for M1, dentsu’s people-based insights, planning, activation and measurement platform.
Ugam 1600-strong talent will now have access to Merkle’s leadership, global mobility and best-in-class learning and development programs.
Over the next few months, the brand migration will be reflected across Ugam’s assets including its website and social media handles and will be communicated to all stakeholders.
Ugam CEO and co-founder Sunil Mirani said. “I’m proud of Ugam’s achievements in the past 22 years. We’ve experienced year-on-year growth, driven impact for our long-tenured clients and strategic partners, grown into a family of 4,000+, and been recognised as a Great Place to Work. We’ve pushed boundaries to drive meaningful impact in society too. I’m excited about this brand migration as we will be part of a global leading company with similar values and culture.”
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
