Today, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted approval to the deal between Kishore Biyani led Future Group and Reliance Retail, an arm of the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries.
Future Group chief Kishore Biyani was looking for regulators to clear Reliance Retail’s acquisition deal as soon as possible in wake of Amazon’s efforts with various bodies to put stay on the deal.
The $3.4 billion Reliance Retail Future Group deal has been in the balance ever since Amazon raised a petition in the Singapore International Arbitration Court (SIAC) last year. Biyani, had said last week that Reliance come in as a saviour for the company, its employees, and stakeholders after the tough year.
Amazon has approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to state its case against approving the merger of Future Group subsidiaries, which is a condition for the Reliance-Future deal, as per the terms stated by Reliance and Future in their filings. Amazon contends that it is not being paid a fair price for its stake in Future Coupons, which is a promoter entity for Future Retail.
Biyani earlier in an interview with Reuters said, that “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.”
Biyani has also revealed earlier that Future Group reached out to Amazon several times in 2019 and 2020 seeking support, but no help was provided.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has said that the deal is legal under Indian law, India’s courts have allowed Amazon to raise complaints with various regulators and stock exchanges in recent weeks.
