Future files new case against Amazon in top court over $3.4 billion retail deal - Economic Times

on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against a single-bench Delhi High Court order that had put on hold the proposed Future Group Reliance Retail deal. The Delhi High Court order, earlier challenged by the promoter, was passed in February.

This is the second petition by a Future Group entity in the last two weeks after the Supreme Court in its early-August verdict validated that a Singapore emergency arbitrator’s 2020 interim award, which had restrained Future Retail from selling its assets to Reliance Retail until it decided on Amazon’s challenge, was enforceable in India.

Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings has challenged the Future-Reliance deal. The latest Future lawsuit comes barely two weeks after its promoter firm Future Coupons, Kishore Biyani and his family had filed a similar petition against the February order.

“This time the petition has been filed by Future Retail,” said a person familiar with the development. A Future Group spokesperson did not respond to ET’s query seeking comment, while Amazon declined to comment on the latest Future plea.

Justice JR Midha in his February ruling had said Future Retail, Future Coupons and group founder Biyani were in violation of the October interim order of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Justice Midha had also imposed a Rs 20-lakh fine on Biyani and directed the Future Group to approach the authorities to recall all approvals granted to the Future-Reliance deal. Justice Midha’s order was subsequently quashed in February by a divisional bench of the same Delhi court, prompting Amazon to move the Supreme Court in April.

Finally on August 6, the top court had ruled that the SIAC interim order was enforceable in India. Amazon has objected to the proposed sale of Future Group’s retail assets to Reliance Retail citing a 2019 investment agreement with Future Coupons, one of the promoter firms of the listed Future Retail that owns the Big Bazaar supermarket chain.

Amazon had argued its Rs 1,431-crore investment to acquire a 49% stake in Future Coupons barred the listed Future Retail from selling its assets to more than a dozen Indian and foreign groups, including Reliance.

Adblock test (Why?)

Future files new case against Amazon in top court over $3.4 billion retail deal - Economic Times
Read More