Report: Indian court orders a halt on $3.4b Future-Reliance deal

Details:

• Future Group was asked not to move forward with its deal with Reliance after it had reportedly “willfully” violated orders of the Singapore arbitrator.
• The high court has also ordered Future Group to give 20 lakh rupees (US$27,600) to the prime minister’s relief fund that provides Covid-19 vaccines to senior citizens living below the poverty line.

Context:

• In August 2020, Reliance Retail said it would acquire Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing businesses. However, Amazon appealed for Singapore’s arbitration court to stop the asset sale, claiming that the deal was a breach of contract between the US ecommerce giant and Future.
• More recently, India’s top court also stopped regulatory approval for Future Group’s deal with Reliance Industries, marking another victory for Amazon.

Currency converted from Indian rupees to US dollar: US$1 = 72.56 rupees.