MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Is Reliance’s taking over of 200 plus Future Retail (FRL) stores the end of the road for Amazon, which has opposed the Rs 24,713 crore FRL-RIL deal tooth and nail at various legal fora? Industry sources see limited options available to the e-commerce giant despite several cases running concurrently in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, where it has opposed the deal on grounds of violation of certain contractual agreements. To be sure, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and tribunal has ruled in favour of Amazon.
One of the sources said Amazon could now file a fresh appeal rather than seeking an “interim injunction,” or, alternatively, seek repayment of the Rs 1,500 crore it incurred in 2019 when buying a 49% stake in Future Coupons, which owns a stake in FRL. The source said Amazon could press for some “damages” over and above the Rs 1,500 crore, especially as it has held all along that the FRL-RIL deal contravenes contractual obligations it had entered into with Future group while purchasing the stake.
“You can always question the intent of the contract, but you cannot legally find faults with the execution of the contract,” said another source referring to the lease agreements, which allowed RIL to become the lessee and sub lease the stores back to FRL. “They would say they (RIL and Future group) just executed the contract, which specifically mentions that if Future retails fail to repay its debt then Reliance retail would start taking over the stores,” he added.
Queries to RIL and Amazon went unanswered till the time of going to press. Apart from the ongoing legal tussle, Amazon has appealed against the Competition Commission of India suspending its 2019 approval to Amazon for buying 49% in Future Coupons for failing to notify its interest in FRL. FRL, in its turn, has said that the ongoing litigation with Amazon since October 2020, when the deal with RIL was announced, has adversely impacted the company’s working. Reportedly, Future has been restrained from selling its stake in its general insurance joint venture by a court.