iWorld
Netflix and Supercell partner for Clash of Clans animated series
MUMBAI: Netflix is about to turn your village raid into a full-blown series binge. The streamer has teamed up with mobile gaming giant Supercell to bring Clash, an animated series based on the runaway hits Clash of Clans and Clash Royale. No, this isn’t a drill—nor is it a poorly-timed Hog Rider charge.
Currently in pre-production, Clash will be helmed by Fletcher Moules, the wizard behind Supercell’s viral YouTube shorts. With Moules as showrunner and Ron Weiner (of Silicon Valley, 30 Rock and Futurama fame) penning the scripts, the show promises a blend of explosive action, tongue-in-cheek humour, and yes—immaculate Barbarian moustaches. Vancouver-based Icon Creative Studio is handling animation duties.
The storyline? Classic underdog chaos. A plucky but clueless barbarian finds himself forced to rally a band of misfits—wizards, archers, and goblins galore—to protect their village while navigating the hilariously absurd politics of war.
Supercell head of film & TV Curtis Lelash said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Netflix and this creative team to bring the world of Clash to life. Think epic battles, immaculate Barbarian mustaches, and the kind of humor our players know and love. They’ve been asking for a Clash series forever, and we’re beyond excited to finally say: it’s happening!”
Netflix’s veep of animation series John Derderian added: “Clash has been a global gaming phenomenon for over a decade—filled with humor, action and unforgettable characters perfect for an animated series adaptation. Working with the incredible team at Supercell, Fletcher Moules and Ron Weiner, we’re bringing all the fun, chaos and spirit of the world of Clash to life in a whole new way. We can’t wait for fans—old and new—to experience the mayhem.”
With over four billion downloads and 180 billion hours of gameplay under its belt, the Clash universe isn’t just mobile—it’s momentous. Netflix has a track record of turning fan favourites into cult classics (Arcane, Blue Eye Samurai, Sonic Prime), and this latest drop could well be its next tower-toppler.
No release date yet, but fans are already hoarding hype like Dark Elixir. One thing’s for sure: mobile mayhem just levelled up.
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.
