Indian bourses greenlight Reliance-Future $3.4b deal in blow to Amazon

“We hereby advise that we have no adverse observations with limited reference to those matters having a bearing on listing/de-listing/continuous listing requirements within the provisions of Listing Agreement, so as to enable the company to file the scheme with Hon’ble NCLT [National Company Law Tribunal],” Mumbai-based bourse BSE wrote in a notification.

The move comes after Amazon appealed to the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Competition Commission of India to block the deal between the two largest retail chains.

In August 2020, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail said it would acquire Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing business in a US$3.4 billion deal.

However, Amazon sent a legal notice to Future Group and approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to call off the deal in October.

The US-based ecommerce giant acquired a 49% stake in Future Coupons, the promoter group entity of Future Group’s retail business, for about US$205 million in December 2019. As per the agreement, Amazon said the deal was a violation of a right-of-first-refusal pact it had signed with Future Group. Moving forward, the ecommerce titan told TechCrunch it will continue to pursue legal remedies.

The Reliance Retail-Future deal will be a setback for Amazon in the Indian retail market, which was expected to reach US$1.7 trillion by 2026, up from US$950 billion in 2018.