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Hathway to invest Rs 5.8 bn from IPO proceeds
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom plans to utilise Rs 5.8 billion out of the net proceeds of its proposed initial public offering (IPO), bulk of which will be for customer acquisition and digitisation of cable TV. Hathway is looking at a valuation of $900 million-to-$1 billion, an industry source says. The multi-system operator (MSO) will have a public issue of up to 27.75 million, consisting of a fresh issue of up to 2 million equity shares (Rs 10 each) and an offer for sale of 7.75 million shares. |
Private equity investors ChrysCapital and Morgan, who are partially exiting through an offer for sale, are expected to get around $80 million. “The final valuation of Hathway, however, will depend on the pricing of the IPO through the book building process,” the source avers. Post IPO, the promoters‘ holding will fall to 49.24 per cent while News Corp‘s stake will dilute from 20.2 per cent to 17 per cent. The foreign holding, in fact, will fall from 42.74 per cent to 31.33 per cent, following the IPO. The company, which filed a preliminary draft prospectus for its IPO, posted a consolidated revenue of Rs 6.73 billion in FY‘09 while EBITDA stood at Rs 1.03 billion. Hathway incurred a net loss of Rs 620.60 million for the fiscal ended 31 March 2009. The net worth of the company (as of 31 March 2009) was Rs 5.15 billion. |
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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.
