Amazon Wins Interim Relief; Future-RIL Deal Put On Hold

Deal would have helped Reliance almost double its footprint as India’s largest retailer

NEW DELHI: Amazon.com Inc on Sunday won an interim award against its partner Future Group selling retail business to Reliance Industries Ltd for Rs 24,713 crore after a Singapore-based single judge arbitration panel put the deal on hold.

Amazon, which had agreed to purchase 49 per cent of one of Future’s unlisted firms last year with the right to buy into flagship Future Retail Ltd after a period of three years to 10 years, had dragged Future to arbitration after the indebted Kishore Biyani group firm signed pact to sell retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance.

Passing an interim award in favour of Amazon, V K Rajah asked the Future group to put the deal on hold and said that the deal cannot go through until it finally decides the matter, sources with direct knowledge of the development said.

Confirming the development, an Amazon spokesperson said that the arbitration panel has granted the reliefs sought by it and expect an expeditious conclusion of the arbitration process.