MUMBAI: E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly raised fresh concerns about Future Retail alienating its fixtures and furniture in stores whose leases have been taken over by Reliance Retail, a source aware of the matter told TNIE.
“Concerns have arisen over FRL alienating the fixtures and furniture to a third-party which could transfer the same to Reliance Retail, enabling them to open the stores whose leases were taken over by the latter from FRL,” the source claimed. Queries sent to Amazon, FRL and Reliance to verify this claim went unanswered.
The source said the fixtures and furniture running into crores pertained to the 850 –odd stores whose leases were taken over by Reliance out of the total 1400 FRL stores. The leases were assumed after FRL failed to meet the rental obligations on the same.
The development surfaces amid closing arguments by Amazon in the NCLAT against CCI’s suspension of its 2019 approval enabling the e-comm company to purchase stake in Future Coupons, which resulted in giving it a stake indirectly in FRL. CCI and FRL have concluded their arguments with the former stating that Amazon willfully failed to disclose its interest in the listed company.
The SC will hear an application on interim relief sought by Amazon on April 1 pertaining to alleged alienation by FRL of its assets. In a separate development Future Enterprises informed the stock exchanges of the company having failed to pay an aggregate Rs 19.16 cr to PNB, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India on March 28 under the one-time restructuring (OTR) plan.