The Times of India newspaper’s holding company will invest in the Toronto-based firm, and partner to produce books, TV shows and movies based on the platform’s user-written stories. Wattpad makes money by acting as an agent or co-producer on adaptations of its content. It has 2.6 million users in India, according to co-founder and CEO Allen Lau. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: Wattpad has chosen a powerful Indian partner with huge reach. The Times Group has acted as a clearing house for foreign tech and media companies entering the country. In 2015, it invested in and signed a marketing agreement with Uber. It also has a stake in Walmart-owned e-commerce platform Flipkart—reportedly a “private treaty,” a practice in which the Times Group takes equity in exchange for ad space; the Times Group’s media properties have previously been accused of not properly disclosing the arrangements in their coverage, but now lists them per regulators’ requirements. On the media side, the Indian versions of Vice, Huffington Post, and Business Insider are all joint ventures with the Times Group.