Amazon in Supreme Court: FRL can’t seek nod for Reliance deal

Amazon had gone to Singapore Arbitration court against Future’s decision to sell its retail business to Reliance Retail for over Rs 24,000 crore.
Photo | AP
Photo | AP

NEW DELHI: E-commerce company Amazon has moved the Supreme Court against the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order allowing Future Retail Ltd to seek shareholders approval for its merger with Reliance Retail.

Amazon has made a submission in the court that Future Retail should not be allowed to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to seek shareholders consent for the deal till the final verdict is passed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

Amazon has argued in the apex court that in the interim arbitration order, SIAC maintained that its (Amazon’s) contract with Future Coupon is valid and that it has the first right of refusal. Amazon moved the SC after the SIAC recently made Future Retail party to the ongoing arbitration between Amazon and Future Coupon. Future Retail had asked the arbitration court to exclude it from the arbitration, the hearing in which is likely to begin in the middle of November.

In its petition in SC, Amazon has argued that now that SIAC has also gone ahead and said that Future Retail is a party to the arbitration, then on what grounds the EGM should be held”  “We don’t want them to go ahead and seek shareholders’ approval and give the shareholders false assurances, because you do not know which way the case may turn up,” says an Amazon official on the condition of anonymity.

Amazon had gone to Singapore Arbitration court against Future’s decision to sell its retail business to Reliance Retail for over Rs 24,000 crore. The reason Amazon is against the deal is that it had invested Rs 1,400 crore in Futures Coupons, which holds 9.8% in Future Retails. According to the contract with FCPL, the latter could not sell Future Retails to a list of firms that included Reliance.

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