iWorld
Jio Haptik announces exclusive product launch event ‘Hype’ ahead of festive season
Mumbai: As the festive season is just around the corner, a conversational commerce company, Jio Haptik, has announced plans to organise its exclusive product launch event, ‘Hype.’ Jio Haptik, through this much-awaited event, will launch new commerce products and features for the upcoming festive sales.
The event will be held at Taj Santacruz, Mumbai, on 15 September from 4:00 p.m.
While dealing with an increase in sales and support requests, WhatsApp has emerged as the ideal medium for brands to achieve their goals. This product launch event is aligned with the increasing importance of proactive customer engagement strategies through WhatsApp. The event will witness top industry leaders discuss various WhatsApp campaign strategies to help brands break sales records, especially during the upcoming Diwali and festive season.
As part of the launch, the products introduced by Jio Haptik will help brands significantly optimise marketing budgets, achieve phenomenal sales, and enhance customer interactions. The product ‘proactive messaging’ will help customer-facing teams to initiate new conversations with users via WhatsApp notifications. The second product, ‘commerce plus,’ will make shopping through conversations easier through search and FAQs on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
The event will be facilitated by leading CX and growth leaders – Jio Mobility platforms & products manager Satinder Singh, Jio Mart director of product management Archit Shrivastava, Netmeds chief communications officer Bruce Schwack and many more.
Sharing his views on the event launch, Haptik CEO and co-founder Aakrit Vaish said, “Messaging as a medium is now helping brands accomplish sales via direct customer conversations at scale. As the world’s largest WhatsApp chatbot provider, our exclusive features will help enterprises proactively sell their products to customers, digitise the end-to-end shopping experience, and meet enormous demand during the festive season. Also, our solution shall significantly increase brand discovery through newer channels like ads, SMS, and Instagram to help brands build a true-omnichannel strategy.”
Commenting on the occasion, Netmeds chief communications officer Bruce Schwack said, “We have been using Haptik for two years now, and from the outset, we have been impressed not only with their technology, but also with their sharp focus on how the technology could help us achieve our business objectives. We’ve already experienced the tremendous advantage Haptik gives us in managing and reducing friction on the CS side, and now the new WhatsApp commerce feature promises to help us convert browsers into customers. Any tool that helps us retain existing customers and on-board new ones gets a big thumbs up from me. So, don’t put your fork down, the best is yet to come!”
iWorld
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square makes $64 billion bid to acquire Universal Music Group
Ackman pitches NYSE relisting plan as UMG board weighs unsolicited offer
The hedge fund has proposed a business combination that values UMG at €30.40 per share, representing a hefty 78 per cent premium to its current trading price. The offer includes €9.4 billion in cash alongside stock in a newly formed entity, with shareholders set to receive €5.05 per share in cash and 0.77 shares in the new company for each UMG share they hold.
Under the proposal, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd and re-emerge as a Nevada-based entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The move is designed to boost investor visibility and potentially secure inclusion in major indices such as the S&P 500.
Pershing Square Capital Management ceo Bill Ackman argued that while UMG’s operational performance remains strong, its market valuation has lagged due to external factors. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said, pointing to concerns ranging from shareholder overhang to delayed US listing plans.
Ackman also flagged what he sees as untapped potential in UMG’s balance sheet and a lack of clear capital allocation strategy. He added that the market has not fully recognised the value of UMG’s €2.7 billion stake in Spotify, alongside gaps in investor communication.
The proposed transaction would also result in the cancellation of around 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, while maintaining its investment-grade balance sheet. Pershing Square has said it will fully backstop the equity financing, with debt commitments secured at signing. The deal is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
UMG, however, has struck a measured tone. The company confirmed that its board has received the non-binding proposal and will review it with advisers. It reiterated confidence in its current strategy and leadership under Lucian Grainge, signalling no immediate shift in stance.
The proposal comes at a time when global music companies are navigating evolving investor expectations, streaming economics and capital allocation pressures. For Pershing Square, the bet is clear: sharpen the financial story, relist in the US, and let the music play louder in the markets.
Whether UMG’s board is ready to change the tune remains to be seen, but the spotlight on its valuation just got a lot brighter.
