iWorld
Lookup launches merchant app Lookup Biz
MUMBAI: Lookup, a free chat-based local commerce app, has introduced a merchant app called Lookup Biz, which provides a free suite of tools to showcase a business and connect it to the Lookup shoppers’ community.
With the help of this app businesses can track their customers, respond to their queries and product searches. Moreover businesses can push their offers through geo-targeted push notifications. Businesses can even re-market their products to customers who have made purchases from their stores earlier by re-engaging with them. A separate section gives important business analytics, which helps merchants understand customers better and receive feedback on their offerings.
It also gives businesses a way to manage bill cycles, invoicing and online payments. Lookup is also introducing a hyper-local advertisement network for offline merchants across Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru to promote their brand and reach out to shoppers in their vicinity of five to seven kilometers. Merchants will be able to reach out to the right target, living and looking for product. Lookup is powered by NLP and a functional AI. The app offers recommendations of various shops, request matching, and competitive product suggestions based on trends, special sales of new arrivals.
Lookup Biz founder and CEO Deepak Ravindran said, “Lookup Biz is aimed at assisting our partner merchants to come on board with greater facility and reach out to customers in more effective ways. Besides smoothening out daily business tasks like managing invoicing and payments, the app also allows businesses to foster greater engagement with existing and potential customers through their mobile profiles and more targeted offers.” Lookup Biz app is also planning to come up with a cloud-based POS so that businesses can manage all their operations. The POS will include menu management, real time analytics, and receipts and invoicing, apart from this, future enhancements include allowing owners of a chain of stores to claim multiple stores either as a chain of a brand or as independent stores.
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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.
