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Vodafone inks € 7.7 billion deal with KDG
MUMBAI: Germany‘s largest cable-TV platform, Kabel Deutschland, is set to be taken over by mobile telco giant Vodafone in a deal worth € 7.7 billion ($10.1 billion).
[Click and drag to move] Liberty Global, which owns Germany‘s Unity Media, had also been eyeing KDG, which has about 7.6 million TV subscribers in Germany. The transaction values KDG at € 87 per share. Its combination with Vodafone, which has 32.4 million mobile customers in the country, will create a company with € 11.5 billion in German revenues.
Vodafone predicts a strong growth potential for KDG, particularly with multi-service bundles-existing Vodafone customers can be cross-sold KDG‘s broadband, fixed telephony and TV offerings, while KDG subs can be cross-sold Vodafone‘s mobile offerings.
“German consumer and business demand for fast broadband and data services continues to grow substantially as customers increasingly access TV, fixed and mobile broadband services from multiple devices in the home and [Click and drag to move] workplace and on the move,” said Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao. “The combination of Vodafone Germany and Kabel Deutschland will greatly enhance our offerings in response to those needs and is consistent with Vodafone‘s broader strategy of providing unified communications services. The transaction announced today-which the management and supervisory boards of Kabel Deutschland intend to recommend to their shareholders-will lead to the creation of an operator with significant competitive scale, attractive operating and capital investment efficiencies and a combined management team with expertise across all communications segments and technologies.”
Following the transaction, KDG management will be responsible for the combined consumer fixed-line business throughout Germany and for creating the single product platforms for TV, broadband and fixed telephony, out of the existing headquarters in Unterföhring. The platform‘s CEO Adrian V Hammerstein, will be invited to join the management board of Vodafone Germany.
Hammerstein commented, “Kabel Deutschland has evolved into one of the most dynamic players in the sector. Its high-performance infrastructure and successful strategy makes it ideally placed to continue returning above-average growth in a rapidly changing market. Kabel Deutschland and Vodafone are an ideal fit. Together, we have the opportunity to become Germany‘s leading telecommunications and television provider and to create what for the German market is a unique, winning combination of fixed line and mobile communications.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
