ITV

Tag: Investment

  • Upstox encourages youth to ‘own their future’ in new IPL campaign

    Upstox encourages youth to ‘own their future’ in new IPL campaign

    Mumbai: Investment platform Upstox (also known as RKSV Securities India) has launched its Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign called ‘Own Your Future.’ The marketing campaign aims to encourage young Indians to participate in the equity market.

    The digital ad film showcases how one can “make your favourite companies work for you”- by buying their stocks, becoming a shareholder in them, and thus having the company and its management work to improve the returns.

    The brand has partnered with IPL ever since the cricket league was launched in 2008. The first two videos of the series were released along with the launch of Tata IPL 2022.

    “The campaign ‘Own Your Future’ intends to encourage more Indians to participate in the equity market and make the right investment choices through Upstox,” said Upstox co-founder Kavitha Subramanian. “Young Indians today understand the value of owning assets and building a portfolio, via owning shares in companies. There’s a huge rise in startup culture and they understand that even if everyone cannot be an entrepreneur, you can still own a share of a company, and participate in its long term upside.”

    “Just like IPL has redefined cricket, Upstox aims to redefine investments for its customers. We are positive that this campaign will help drive a culture of equity investment in India, as well as encourage more Indians to take charge of their financial future,” she added.

    The multimedia marketing campaign includes commercials on television, digital, and social media platforms. While digital has been employed to reach out to the target segments in metros and big cities, television will be dominating the media mix for tier 2 and 3 cities, the brand said.

     

  • HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    Lille, France: The shortage of writing, production, and directorial talent is being bemoaned by one and all at a time when demand for content is booming worldwide. WarnerMedia EMEA is doing something about it in France to start with. EVP & head of original production, EMEA Anthony Root at the content powerhouse- on 23 March – announced that it is going to be putting in a million dollars over the next three years behind an initiative SeriesMania Institute being pushed by fast growing TV series festival SeriesMania.

    Present at the Series Mania Forum during the announcement were the festival’s founder & general director Laurence Herszberg, and Series Mania Institute project manager Pierre Ziemniak. HBO Max will be joining Newen (founding partner), France Télévisions, and Entreprises et Cités, The Series Mania Institute, launched last year, is an initiative devoted entirely to training the professionals of tomorrow’s European TV series.

    The organisation also benefits from the support of the Lille European Metropolis (MEL), the Hauts-de-France Region, and the CNC, as well as partnerships with some of the leading European schools, including La Fémis and Sciences Po Lille. Its European course Eureka Series is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union.

    Herszberg says, “Since its creation, our mission with the Series Mania Institute has been to be the incubator for creating new talent and developing an impressive European network, while reinforcing the training of these professionals in the field of series and audiovisual content, including scriptwriters, directors, producers, and broadcasters. Now, thanks to HBO Max and their generous funding, along with all of our partners, we are well positioned to devote the necessary training to these new talents who will create the European series of tomorrow. I could not be prouder than to be making this announcement today.”

    HBO Max EMEA General Manager Christina Sulebakk adds, “Europe is home to an incredible breadth and depth of talent and in partnership with the Series Mania Institute, we’re thrilled to provide the support and resources to nurture the next generation. At HBO Max, we recognise that programming is only as good as those who are empowered to make it and through this initiative, we’re excited to play a meaningful role in helping creatives to do their best work.”

    Unit Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes, European Commission head Lucia Recalde highlights, “Creative Europe MEDIA is proud to be a partner of the Series Mania ecosystem, first through Series Mania Forum, and now with Eureka Series, the European training programme of Series Mania Institute. HBO Max supporting the Institute marks an important step in the integration of international SVOD platforms to the European industry, and a major creative opportunity for European series professionals”.

    Opened in 2021, the Series Mania Institute is the first school entirely devoted to training future series professionals. The Institute is made up of three programmes, including: Eureka Series, an intensive three-month training course for emerging television drama series writers and producers from all over Europe, a Master’s Programme at Science Po Lille for future managers, and Le Tremplin/Springboard, a platform to help identify, initiate, and guide young talents in the Hauts-de-France region. Through these programmes and future initiatives, the Series Mania Institute delivers world-class training to creators and storytellers from diverse backgrounds and origins and develops the next generation of remarkable European series makers, contributing to a strong future for the European audiovisual industry.

  • Havas Group India onboards Chandra Dobhal as EVP-investment

    Havas Group India onboards Chandra Dobhal as EVP-investment

    Mumbai: Media professional Chandra Dobhal has joined Havas Group India as executive vice president – investment. 

    “I’m happy to share that I have re-joined the #media planning & buying industry and have started a new inning as Executive Vice President – Investment at Havas Group from 1st Feb ’22. I must mention thanks to Venkat, Mohit Joshi and Uday Mohan all my seniors at Havas Group for providing me this opportunity to come back to the mainline media business. I am also seeking best wishes and cooperation from all the friends, partners and stakeholders I am going to work with,” Dobhal said in a LinkedIn post.

    Prior to joining Havas, Dobhal was associated with dentsu International as executive vice president – national head, buying and operations.

    He had a 17-year stint at dentsu where he was responsible for developing process of buying and implementation and setting benchmarks to deliver the best products and value to clients.

    In a career spanning over two decades, he has also worked with Carat Media Services, Percept H, and Concept Communication.

  • 16 per cent urban Indians currently own cryptocurrency: Kantar study

    16 per cent urban Indians currently own cryptocurrency: Kantar study

    Mumbai: The sentiment around cryptocurrency in India and the world over is volatile, with tweets or news around cryptocurrency seen to have an immediate effect on it. As per a recently concluded study by Kantar, it is learned that while 83 per cent of urban Indians are aware of cryptocurrency, the ownership is at a healthy 16 per cent for a product that has gained traction only recently.

    Out of the 16 per cent urban Indians who claim to currently own cryptocurrency, ownership is highest in the top four metros at 20 per cent, among private banking customers at 19 per cent and in the age group of 21-35 years at 18 per cent, found the study. The owners have a higher risk appetite, with their investment basket comprising shares at 31 per cent and mutual funds at 21 per cent over traditional choices like fixed deposits at 19 per cent and life insurance at 16 per cent.

    The survey by the evidence-based insights and consulting company was primarily conducted amongst males and females aged between 21-55 years across twelve key Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore, Patna, Jaipur, and Lucknow. Respondents were a mix of salaried and business owners- all with savings accounts across various banks, Kantar stated adding that the time frame of undertaking the social analytics was from January 2020 to June 2021.

    The study also found that cryptocurrency owners and intenders have a diversified financial portfolio. The average number of financial products owned is higher (6.6) among those who have currently invested in cryptocurrency as well as those who intend to (5.2). In comparison, the average number of financial products owned by non-crypto-owners stands at 4.6 and 3.6 for non-intenders.

    Interestingly, one in two consumers intending to invest in cryptocurrency are repeat investors. Out of the total sample surveyed, 19 per cent Indians intend to invest in cryptocurrency in the next six months. However, this is lower when compared with the intention to invest in mutual funds (49 per cent) and shares (33 per cent) in the next six months.

    Most Indians are currently trying to better understand how cryptocurrency works and if it’s worth the investment and risk, according to Kantar- Insights Division executive director Anand Parameswaran. “This is the first of its kind research study on cryptocurrency in India. We met close to 2,000 consumers and saw that awareness levels are clearly quite high,” he said about the study, adding that, “Consumers are willing to invest in the product and are looking at diversification of their portfolio among high-risk products. Engagement with various crypto exchanges also indicates that ownership numbers seem likely to increase in future.”

    In terms of ownership, the top five preferred currencies are Bitcoin which leads by far at 75 per cent, followed by Dogecoin at 47 per cent, Ethereum at 40 per cent, Binance Coin at 23 per cent and XRP at 18 per cent. Though Bitcoin leads on ownership; net sentiment is highest for Ethereum (41). Net sentiment for other cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, XRP, and Binance coin is also higher compared to Bitcoin.

    Consumer intelligence from social data shows that the profile of those interested in cryptocurrency is most likely to be men in the age group of 25-44. The higher skew of the cryptocurrency interested audience is also seen towards the top metros with Delhi topping the charts at 21 per cent followed by Mumbai at 17 per cent, Bangalore at 12 per cent, Hyderabad at seven per cent and Pune at six per cent.

    Crypto exchanges like WazirX, Zebpay, Coinswitch, and Kuber are most used to purchase the currency for the most popular ones- Bitcoin (70 per cent), Dogecoin (78 per cent) and Ethereum (70 per cent).

    “While most perceive cryptocurrency currently as a digital currency, it is also perceived by the majority as an alternate form of investment. Cryptocurrency thus can be a potential competition to alternate investment instruments like gold,” said Frrole AI co-founder Amanpreet Kalkat.

    Earlier, Elon Musk’s tweet (about not accepting Bitcoin for the purchase of Tesla vehicles) gave cryptocurrencies a negative sentiment around May 2021. However, post a reassurance, these sentiments shifted back to positive post-June 2021.

  • ZeeL to scale down investment in SugarBox significantly

    ZeeL to scale down investment in SugarBox significantly

    KOLKATA: When things aren’t working out, it’s better you step back until they start looking better.  Exactly how Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is doing with its investment in internet connectivity start-up Margo Networks. It was barely a year ago that it had announced that it would invest Rs 522 crore in the latter which offers bandwidth to consumers under the brand name SugarBox.

    The broadcaster aimed to create a tech-content synergy through the investment in order to help subscribers get over connectivity constraints that plague India’s mobile networks. However, Zeel has decided to scale down its investment in SugarBox owing to the changing situation.

    “Given the current pandemic and uncertainties, we will not be investing very aggressively behind SugarBox. From our original plan itself, it will be scaled down significantly for the foreseeable future,” ZeeL MD & CEO Punit Goenka said during an investors’ call.

    Of all the reasons behind the decision, one is that the project has been delayed significantly. ZeeL was expecting it to roll out in February but the pandemic has hindered its execution. As no one knows how long Covid2019 will last, there are fair chances of a further delay.

    “More importantly, even after everything stabilises, we don’t know how the traffic will build. Traffic consumption was very different when we planned the project. For FY22, we do not see that kind of investment that we were planning earlier,” ZeeL investor relations, corporate strategy head Bijal Shah said.

    Reduction in non-core investments in Sugarbox due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a welcome step, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said in a recent note.

    “The unique technology will enable us to serve content to consumers across the nation, without being restricted by connectivity constraints. We are confident that this synergy will create a strong foundation for us, as we progress towards offering relevant content to consumers across platforms,” Goenka said at the time of the investment.

    However, analysts were sceptical of the timeliness of the investment from the beginning. Brokerage firms found it ill-timed due to a weak ad environment.

    In the year 2017, ZeeL had acquired an 80 per cent equity stake in SugarBox. The latter creates a hyperlocal data distribution ecosystem by installing CDN Edge servers at key places of interest (POIs), which users can connect to over a local Wi-Fi network.

  • From the verge of closing shop, SUGAR Cosmetics delivers 49X returns to investor

    From the verge of closing shop, SUGAR Cosmetics delivers 49X returns to investor

    MUMBAI: How many people know that the now cult-favourite beauty brand of Gen Z and millennials, SUGAR was once on the verge of shutting shop due to lack of funding?

    The direct-to-consumer SUGAR Cosmetics founded in 2015 by IIM Ahmedabad alumni Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee is one of the fastest-growing premium beauty brands in India today. However, things were far from rosy for the Mumbai-based start-up back in 2016 when it did not even have enough money to import its first batch of lipsticks manufactured in Germany. 

    Pulling back the curtain on an untold story of a contrarian bet for the brand in 2015, Co-founder & CEO Vineeta Singh says, “SUGAR Cosmetics started as a direct-to-consumer cosmetics brand in 2015 with products that were specifically created for young Indian women. Very few people know that it was also at this time when the company was pivoting from the beauty subscription service to a cosmetics brand, it came very close to shutting down.”

    Had it not been for a leap of faith from its earliest backer, India Quotient, dipping into their ‘reserve for AMC fees’ funds for a sizeable sum of Rs 1 crore, the founder admits the picture would have been starkly different today.

    “In 2016, having already infused capital from their first fund, the partners at India Quotient, Madhukar Sinha and Anand Lunia, were clear that their fiduciary duty towards their limited partners ruled out any possibility of any further investment from their successor fund without an external investor leading the round. However, for reasons best known to them, they took an extremely risky call of lending the company Rs 1 crore from the funds ‘reserve for AMC fees’ amount that VCs earn for managing the fund,” says Singh.

    Without India quotient’s cash infusion, Apart from being unable to pay their German manufacturers to release the products that were ready for delivery, the company would never have reached the 2017 Series A which eventually set the brand up on a different trajectory altogether, she details. “It gives us immense joy to be able to return 49X of their investment to them and thank them for the pivotal role they’ve had and continue to have as SUGAR scales,” she gushes. 

    The cruelty-free brand has quickly made its way into most makeup aficionado’s hearts and vanity bags. The year 2021 was off to a strong start for the digital-first beauty player as it announced a $21 Million (Rs 153 crore) Series C funding round in early February. As part of this, India Quotient marginally trimmed its holding to clock a 49X return on its investment at an IRR of 61 per cent.  

    Till date, the company has raised a total of $33 Million funds. India Quotient has consistently backed the founding team through all four rounds of funding, including the recently concluded Series C where it co-invested with Elevation Capital and A91 Partners. As a result, India Quotient is currently the second largest institutional investor of the company with a stake worth more than its first two funds put together.  

    The early-stage investor firm first invested in the vision back in 2013 when the parent company Vellvette Lifestyle was pursuing a beauty subscription service business model. In 2015, SUGAR Cosmetics was launched under the same company with a limited range of Crayon Lipsticks, Vivid Lipsticks, Matte Eyeliner and Kajal that disrupted the online cosmetics market and went viral through rave reviews on Instagram and YouTube. Starting with net revenue of Rs 3 crore in 2016-2017 the brand successfully clocked in Rs 105+ crores in its fourth fiscal year, reaching an 85 per cent year-on-year growth rate. This, while notching up 1.5+ million followers across social media platforms on the side.  

    India Quotient founding partner Madhukar Sinha said, “Ever since the launch of our operations in 2012, we have invested in over 70 start-ups. While we first backed the founders in 2013, we did infuse some amount in SUGAR Cosmetics in 2016 from the first fund’s reserve for AMC fees amount – we just knew that this association was to go a long way. The projections of the online beauty industry and the all-in approach of the team just had to be seen through to the Series A fundraise in June 2017.”

    Besides investments in keeping the brand’s fast-moving product range ahead of the curve, SUGAR plans on using their latest funds in building both digital and retail distribution to further their reach in existing and new geographies, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 towns of India. The brand’s Android and iOS apps have seen a million downloads with a 4.6-star rating, indicating a strong community of beauty enthusiasts that the brand speaks to. The retail footprint is also expected to grow from the current 10,000+ retail outlets to 40,000+ in the current year. 

    Sinha affirms, “Seeing the brand grow to become a cult-favourite among millennial women was a proud moment for us as well because we knew that the gut feel was validated. Watching how quickly SUGAR was carving their mark in the beauty industry, we returned to invest in the brand in their Series B & Series C rounds as well. For a brand that is merely 5 years old, SUGAR has taken the industry by storm and we are happy to be a part of their success journey.” Indeed.

  • Upstox urges us to take the first step towards investing

    Upstox urges us to take the first step towards investing

    NEW DELHI: Days after announcing its association with the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ratan Tata-backed brokerage firm Upstox has rolled out a new campaign, Start Karke Dekho, that aims to promote better financial participation in the country.

    By speaking to the fact that sometimes it’s all about just taking the first step, the campaign emphasises that with Upstox, investing is extremely simple and effortless, right from the get-go.

    It features a series of videos capturing insights from everyday situations. The campaign’s underlying objective is to create financial awareness and foster an investment culture across the country.

    The campaign includes commercials on television, OTT, digital, and social media platforms. While digital and OTT platforms are employed to reach out to target segments in metros and big cities, television dominates the media mix for tier-2, tier-3, and tier-4 towns.

    Upstox co-founder & CEO Ravi Kumar said, “The most important aspect of the campaign is that it gives first-time users confidence to start their investment journey. At Upstox, we want to refresh the way investing is done in India, just like IPL has reinvented cricket as a sport in India. We believe that our campaign Start Karke Dekho will create a significant impact on the millions of young people who want to manage their funds better.”

  • KKR to invest Rs 5,500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures

    KKR to invest Rs 5,500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures

    Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”) and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (“RRVL”) announced that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. KKR’s investment will translate into a 1.28 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.

    This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

    Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide. Reliance Retail’s vision is to galvanize the Indian retail sector through an inclusive strategy serving millions of customers by empowering millions of farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and working closely with global and domestic companies as a preferred partner, to deliver immense benefits to Indian society, while protecting and generating employment for millions of Indians. Reliance Retail, through its new commerce strategy, has started a transformational digitalization of small and unorganised merchants and is committed to expanding the network to over 20 million of these merchants. This will enable the merchants to use technology tools and an efficient supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers.

    Read more news on Reliance Industries

    Founded in 1976, KKR has 222 billion dollars in assets under management as of June 30, 2020 and a long history of building leading global enterprises, including many companies at the forefront of technology and digital transformation including in areas of consumer retail and eCommerce, such as investments in Epic Games, OutSystems, Internet Brands, Go-jek and Voyager Innovations. KKR established its first of eight Asia offices in 2005 and the firm currently has approximately 5.1 billion dollars in private equity investments across more than 15 Indian companies, including Jio Platforms, JB Chemicals, Max Healthcare, Eurokids International and Ramky Enviro Engineers.

    Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said, “I am pleased to welcome KKR as an investor in Reliance Retail Ventures as we continue our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian Retail ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We look forward to working with KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses.”

    KKR co-CEO & co-founder Henry Kravis said, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Reliance Industries through this investment in Reliance Retail Ventures, which is empowering merchants of all sizes and fundamentally changing the retail experience for Indian consumers. Reliance Retail’s new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses as more Indian consumers move to shopping online and the company offers tools for Kiranas to be a critical part of the value chain. We are thrilled to support Reliance Retail in its mission to become India’s leading omnichannel retailer and ultimately to build a more inclusive Indian retail economy.”

    KKR is making its investment from its Asia private equity funds. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

    Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP acted as financial advisor to KKR. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to KKR.

  • Fremantle’s Ludia to invest $30 million for expansion plans

    Fremantle’s Ludia to invest $30 million for expansion plans

    MUMBAI: On the heels of the global success of its latest title, Jurassic World: The Game, FremantleMedia’s mobile and online game developer Ludia is planning to invest a sum of $30 million to support the expansion of the Montreal studio and team.

     

    Additionally, the company will also be creating 100 new positions as it begins work on four new franchises, expanding its portfolio. The expansion of the Montreal studio will allow the 100 new hires to join the 300 employees already assigned to different projects.

     

    “We are thrilled with today’s news as it clearly demonstrates the tremendous growth and achievements Ludia has experienced. Such an investment in resources, infrastructure and renowned intellectual properties is a testament to the quality of Ludia’s work and the growth of the mobile and online games industry,” said Ludia Inc president and CEO Alex Thabet.

     

    These new licenses will allow Ludia to take on more projects with a broader consumer appeal and reach a larger and more varied fan base in the range of casual to mid-core games.

     

    One of its most recent successes, Jurassic World: The Game, launched on 30 April, 2015, and generated close to $25 million in gross revenue in the month following the movie release. This makes Jurassic World: The Game Ludia’s biggest launch in the studio’s history. 

     

    “Montreal is a major player in the gaming industry, and as online and mobile platforms become more popular, our talent pool and infrastructure is increasingly attractive to world-class studios. Ludia is clearly a leader in the online and mobile space. Montreal is fortunate to play host to an innovative, growing industry leader,” said Montreal International president and CEO Dominique Anglade.

     

    “In 10 years, Montréal’s video game industry has experienced an annual average growth of 22 per cent from 1,200 to 8,900 jobs. Companies like Ludia, at the forefront of innovation and creativity, have supported the creation of these high-value jobs, in a promising sector of our economy. Their many successes highlight Montréalers’ expertise around the world and help position the city as a world capital of digital entertainment,” said Mayor of Montréal and Montréal Metropolitan Community president Denis Coderre.

     

    Ludia is also known for its online and mobile games based on franchises like Dragons: Rise of Berk and Family Feud.

  • Raghav Bahl’s Quintillion Media invests Rs 4 crore in Youth Ki Awaaz

    Raghav Bahl’s Quintillion Media invests Rs 4 crore in Youth Ki Awaaz

    MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur led Quintillion Media, has invested Rs 4 crore in an angel round in Youth Ki Awaaz, a media platform for the youth to address some of the world’s most pressing issues – through thoughtful opinions and reportage.

     

    Kapur will join the board of the Youth Ki Awaaz parent – YKA Media Private Limited. BMR Advisors acted as transaction advisors to Quintillion Media and Novistra Capital acted as transaction advisors to Youth Ki Awaaz.

     

    Youth Ki Awaaz is a completely crowd-sourced digital media company, which aims to break the top-down, one-way approach of traditional media, making news creation and dissemination a collaborative/community led model. The platform’s approach to media is founded on the idea that public opinion is the new superpower, and that the media can do more to engage the current generation. From analysis and opinions on politics, to the latest on art and culture, Youth Ki Awaaz is a smorgasbord of personal stories, issue-centric writing and rights based interventions. The website receives over a million readers a month, and has contributions from over 30,000 writers from across India and the world.

     

    Youth Ki Awaaz founder Anshul Tewari said, “The last one year has seen a sudden rise in digital news and opinion platforms. With millions of dollars pouring into new startups, the growth is phenomenal. However, similar to traditional media, digital media too seems to be veering away from being people-focused. YKA on the other hand is a completely people driven digital media platform. With veterans like Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur on board as partners, we feel both privileged and excited to start a new and even more adventurous phase in pushing this generations opinions to the front. The capital will be invested in expanding our team, tech and business model.”

     

    The Quint co-founder Ritu Kapur added, “We were impressed by the idea conceived by Anshul and the team in creating Youth Ki Awaaz. In a short period of time, they have managed to carve a niche for themselves in the digital media space by creating a people driven digital media platform. We find their content to be high on both appeal as well as quality, which is a fine balance to strike. We are confident that they will continue to grow to greater heights in the coming future.”