iWorld
Loco becomes global ‘Next Hottest Products’: report
Mumbai: Loco was named one of the “Next Hottest Products” by global product analytics company Amplitude in its Product Report 2022.
Products and businesses that have made the digital customer experience a key component of their business strategy are recognised on the list of the “Next Hottest Products.” According to data sent to Amplitude, these products have experienced at least a 40 per cent year-over-year growth in monthly active users despite the current economic climate.
Between 21 June and 22 June, Loco’s DAUs increased by 900 per cent , and live watch hours increased by 19x during this same period. This year’s “Next Hottest Products” list, which was expanded from last year’s original list, honours 30 rapidly expanding digital products from businesses in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Commenting on the announcement Loco founder Anirudh Pandita, said, “We are delighted that Loco has made Amplitude’s “Next Hottest Product” List. As the global leader in product analytics, Amplitude, has great insight into the products that are growing the fastest across the globe. To be named to the Top 30 list globally underlines the tremendous growth we have witnessed at Loco over the last year. Product-led growth is the foundation for growing in any economic condition, but more so in the volatile economic environment that currently exists globally. At Loco, we have one of the best product and technology teams in the country, and this honour is a recognition of each individual who works in those teams. We put users at the centre of all our product efforts, and the organisation continues to deliver features at breakneck velocity! Our product efforts, coupled with our pioneering efforts in building the gaming community in India, have enabled us to become the leading independent game streaming platform globally.”
Dedicated to democratising gaming entertainment, Loco is an esports and live streaming platform. The platform has been a pioneer in the live game streaming and esports sectors in India, paving the way for gaming to go from a niche hobby to a mainstream national interest. Loco has maintained its position as the industry’s leading innovator by establishing India’s first NFT esports platform and growing to be the nation’s top sponsor of esports competitions. Additionally, Loco has seen a remarkable 511 per cent growth in MAUs over the past year.
The “Next Hottest Products” are chosen from monthly user data sent to the Amplitude platform over a 13-month period, from June 2021 to June 2022, that has been aggregated and anonymized. Products had to have a minimum of 10,000 monthly active users at the beginning of the analysis period to qualify for this year’s list. Every company included had to be privately held by June 2021.
Amplitude chief product officer Justin Bauer said, “Today every company leader is thinking about how to grow in an efficient and sustainable way. Your digital product is the answer. The companies recognised in this year’s Product Report have shown tremendous, lasting growth despite turbulent economic conditions. Product-led growth is a core part of many of their strategies, and for good reason. Product-led organisations can create experiences users love, acquire new customers at lower costs, and use data to ensure they’re making the right product investments. I am expecting big things from the companies on this list.”
iWorld
Bill Ackman makes a $64bn bid for Universal Music Group
The hedge fund boss wants to list the world’s biggest record label in New York and thinks he knows exactly what ails it
NEW YORK: Bill Ackman wants to buy the world’s biggest record label. Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund run by the billionaire investor, submitted a non-binding proposal on Tuesday to acquire all outstanding shares of Universal Music Group in a business combination transaction worth roughly $64.4 billion (around 55.8 billion euros).
Under the terms of the offer, UMG shareholders would receive 9.4 billion euros in cash, equivalent to 5.05 euros per share, plus 0.77 shares of a newly created company, dubbed New UMG, for each share held. Pershing Square values the total package at 30.40 euros per share, a 78 per cent premium to UMG’s closing price on April 2.
The deal would see UMG merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, with the combined entity incorporating as a Nevada corporation and listing on the New York Stock Exchange. New UMG would publish financial statements under US GAAP and become eligible for S&P 500 index inclusion. Pershing Square says the transaction is expected to close by year-end, with all equity financing backstopped by Ackman’s firm and its affiliates, and all debt financing committed at signing. The transaction would cancel 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, leaving New UMG with 1.541 billion shares outstanding.
Ackman has a long history with UMG. Pershing Square first bought approximately 10 per cent of the company from Vivendi in the summer of 2021 for around $4 billion, around the time of UMG’s listing on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. He has since trimmed that position, raising around $1.4 billion from the sale of a 2.7 per cent stake in March 2025, and resigned from UMG’s board in May 2025, citing new executive and board obligations arising from recent investments.
His diagnosis of UMG’s troubles is blunt. The company’s stock has fallen around 33 per cent over the past twelve months on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, and Ackman lays out six reasons why. These include uncertainty around the Bolloré Group’s 18 per cent stake in the company, the postponement of UMG’s US listing, the underutilisation of UMG’s balance sheet, the absence of a publicly disclosed capital allocation plan and earnings algorithm, a failure to reflect UMG’s 2.7 billion euro stake in Spotify in its valuation, and what Ackman calls suboptimal shareholder investor relations, communications and engagement.
The Bolloré stake has long cast a shadow over the company. Cyrille Bolloré stepped down from UMG’s board in July 2025 as the Bolloré Group battled the French financial markets regulator over its stake in Vivendi, which holds a further capital interest in UMG. UMG had confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2025 for a proposed secondary listing in America, but put those plans on hold in March 2026, citing market conditions.
Ackman has kind words for UMG’s management, at least. “Since UMG’s listing, Lucian Grainge and the company’s management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster and generating strong business performance,” he said. But he made his diagnosis plain: “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction.”
In other words, Ackman believes UMG is a great business trapped inside a broken structure. If the board agrees, he intends to fix that, loudly and in New York.
