Despite Amazon’s intense efforts Future Group expects quick regulatory approval of its $3.4 billion deal to sell its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd., Future and Amazon are at odds over the Future Group’s August deal with Reliance Industries Ltd. The U.S. giant alleges the Future-Reliance deal breached some of its pre-existing contracts with Future.
A New Delhi court in December dismissed Future’s request to restrain Amazon’s repeated attempts to get authorities to stall the deal. But the judge left the fate of the transaction with the regulators.
Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani told Reuters in an interview, “The court has already given their view that every institution can take a view on the sale, So there is no reason why things should be delayed.”
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the market regulator that has been reviewing the deal for months, did not respond to a request for comment. Amazon and Reliance also did not responded to Biyani’s remarks.
SEBI and India’s stock exchanges could still reject or take more time in approving the deal, which is critical for the survival of Future Retail, whose more than 1,700 outlets were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Future Retail has warned that failure to close the deal could lead to the company’s liquidation and job losses for more than 29,000 employees.
“We have restored businesses to a certain extent, but there are challenges,” said Biyani, dubbed India’s retail king for transforming the country’s retailing in recent decades.
The dispute’s outcome could define future of indian retail sector which is expected to be worth around $740 billion a year by 2024.
