The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has awarded Rs 23.7 crore in damages, besides arbitration and litigation costs, to Amazon in its long-running dispute with the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group. The three-member bench of the tribunal held that Future Group had breached the terms of its contract with Amazon by entering into a transaction with Reliance.
Shares of Future Group firms on Monday faced heavy drubbing, tanking up to 20 per cent, after Reliance Industries said its Rs 24,713-crore deal to acquire Future Group's assets cannot be implemented after secured creditors of the Kishore Biyani-led companies voted against the proposal. The stock of Future Consumer plummeted 19.91 per cent, Future Supply Chain Solutions slipped 19.96 per cent, Future Lifestyle Fashions 19.89 per cent, Future Enterprises tumbled 9.87 per cent and Future Retail fell 4.96 per cent on the BSE. Shares of Reliance Industries also dipped 1.75 per cent.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas moved by Future Group companies seeking a direction to the arbitration tribunal, which is adjudicating on Amazon's objections against their deal with Reliance, to take a decision on their application for the termination of the arbitration proceedings before moving any further. "Both the petitions are dismissed," said Justice Amit Bansal, who had reserved the order on the petitions filed by Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL) and Future Retail Limited (FRL) on January 3. The judge said the orders would be uploaded on the website of the high court shortly.
Traders' body CAIT on Wednesday accused e-commerce major Amazon of indulging in serious contraventions of FDI policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act. The body also blamed the online firm for not seeking the government's approval for conducting multi-brand retail activities in India.
Reliance Industries on Saturday said its Rs 24,713-crore deal with the Future Group cannot go ahead as secured creditors of the latter have voted against it.
Amazon provided mere "lip service" and failed to provide any help to the debt-laden Future Group as the retail major suffered massive setback amid the COVID-induced lockdown and faced possible insolvency or debt restructuring, Future Group's promoters said in a letter to the e-commerce giant. This is the first time Future Group promoters have written to Amazon after the parties were embroiled in a legal battle over the sale of Future's retail assets to Reliance Industries. The letter from the promoters, including Kishore Biyani, was written on December 31. It alleged that Amazon's actions "lacked good faith" during the March to August period, when the group's retail business was severely hit by the lockdown.
US e-commerce major Amazon told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the talks with the Future Group to resolve the dispute over Future Retail's merger deal with Reliance Retail have failed and sought intervention to ensure that the stores of FRL are not taken over. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, on March 3, had acceded to Amazon's request and granted 10 days to it for exploring the possibility of resolving the dispute through dialogue with the Future Group. The bench, also comprising justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli, is hearing Amazon's appeal against the January 5 order of the Delhi high court, which stayed the arbitration proceedings before the arbitral tribunal over Future Retail's merger deal with Reliance Retail. "It often happens that sometimes, we hope very positively but in the end, it is not positive at all.
US e-commerce major Amazon Wednesday apprehended the "disappearance" of assets and sought an interim order from the Supreme Court to ensure the preservation of assets of Future Retail Ltd besides resumption of arbitration over FRL's merger deal with Reliance Retail. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli took note of the allegations of the US firm that the "applecart was being upset" by its rivals and asked the Future group firms, FRL and Future Coupons Ltd (FCPL), to respond to the interim plea of Amazon seeking resumption of arbitration and preservation of assets and fixed the hearing on March 23. Amazon and Future group are engaged in multi-forum litigations on the issue of FRL's merger deal to the tune of Rs 24,500 crore with Reliance Retail Ltd after the US e-commerce giant dragged the latter to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in October 2020.
US e-commerce giant Amazon has written to the independent directors of Future Retail Limited (FRL), including Gagan Singh, Ravindra Dhariwal and Jacob Mathew, and its audit committee, providing data and alleging that there have been significant financial irregularities to the prejudice of public shareholders, banks, creditors, and third-party suppliers. Amazon has said this warrants a thorough and independent examination of all relevant facts and related-party transactions, including of past financial years, by an independent agency. Separately, Amazon has written to Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi, seeking the withdrawal of the regulator's conditional approval granted to FRL related to the merger deal between the Future group and Reliance.
The development of the constitution of the tribunal comes at a time when the Delhi high court in December 2020 refused to restrain Amazon from interfering in Future Retail's deal with Reliance Retail by writing to statutory authorities.
Amazon on Sunday won an interim award against its partner Future group selling retail business to Reliance Industries for Rs 24,713 crore after a Singapore-based single judge arbitration panel put the deal on hold. Amazon had dragged Future to arbitration after the Kishore Biyani group firm had agreed to sell businesses to billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance.
Last November, a lawyer for Future Retail Limited (FRL) told Delhi high court that Amazon is interfering with its lawful business and thousands may lose their jobs and FRL may go bankrupt. Senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared for FRL, likened Amazon to East India Company. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who represented Amazon, told the Future counsel to keep the "East India Company" rhetoric aside, as Amazon has invested $6.5 billion all over India and created 900,000 jobs. This drama played out in the case in which Amazon has challenged Future's $3.4-billion deal with Reliance, alleging the retailer's deal breached an agreement with the American e-commerce firm.
Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani on Tuesday said Amazon was fully aware of his group's talks with Reliance Industries for the sale of retail assets that followed the US giant offering no concrete help to tide over the cash crisis. Opening up after being locked in an intense legal battle with Amazon over the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance, Biyani in an interview with PTI said the US giant's 2019 investment in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) -- Future Retail's parent -- was for coupon and gifting business only and the same could continue post-retail assets going to Reliance. He hoped to complete the deal with Reliance within two months of Sebi approval.
Under its door-step delivery model, consumers can shop at any of the three Future Group-owned convenience formats - Easyday, Nilgiris and Heritage - both online or offline.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your stock market queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
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