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SEBI says no to WWIL’s QIP plan, asks for six-month wait
MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd‘s plans to raise Rs 4 billion through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) is delayed due to regulatory hurdles. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has said that the company can‘t come out with fresh issues till completion of six months of listing. The Zee Group‘s demerged cable company, which got listed on 10 January, wanted to come out with a QIP at Rs 122. But regulations require a six-month wait from the listing date as the pricing of the issue is arrived at based on an average during this period. |
For the same reason, a preferential issue of convertible warrants to Jayneer Capital (a promoter group company) translating to five per cent of the company‘s existing equity could not be undertaken. The conversion price at Rs 122 per share (higher than the average for fhe first two-week listing period) would have meant that the promoter group would have put in Rs 1.31 billion for this. “The promoters hold 43.79 per cent (till 31 December) in WWIL and would like to hike it up to 51 per cent. But SEBI wants a six-month wait from listing even for the proposed QIP issue as it is a regulatory requirement,” says a source close to the company. |
WWIL was also considering a rights issue but decided against it because it would take a longer time. The company would have to submit its audited results, file the document and wait for regulatory approval. “If WWIL was to go ahead with the rights issue, it would have had to wait till September. For a QIP, it can do it earlier. The company is most likely to decide on this as a fund raising option,” the source says. The QIP issue would help WWIL fund its expansion programme including digitalisation and acquisition of cable operators. WWIL has aggressive plans to expand its digital cable business and had earlier projected a fund requirement of Rs 7.14 billion over two years. |
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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.
