Supreme Court rules in favour of Amazon in dispute over Future’s $3.4 bn asset sale to Reliance
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The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favour of US retail giant Amazon.com in a case where the Jeff Bezos-led company had sought to block its partner Future Group&#39;s $3.4 billion retail assets sale to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.</p>
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A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that a decision by a Singapore arbitrator in October that went in favour of Amazon and put the deal on hold is valid and applicable in India.</p>
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Amazon had argued that the order is applicable to the deal that Future and Reliance were trying to push through, while Future had argued that the $3.4 deal was outside the ambit of the Singapore arbitration order.</p>
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Both the companies had agreed, when they entered into a $200 million deal in 2019, that any dispute between them would be referred to the Singapore arbitrator</p>
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<strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/economy-news/ed-seeks-info-from-amazon-over-alleged-flouting-of-fdi-rules-73114.html">ED seeks info from Amazon over alleged flouting of FDI rules</a></p>
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Amazon and Kishore Biyani-owned Future Retail have been locked in legal battles over the Future Group&rsquo;s deal to sell its retail assets to Reliance. Amazon claims that has the right to first refusal in buying the assets and the sale to Reliance was a violation of pre-existing contracts. Future had argued that it had the freedom to sell its supermarkets to Reliance.</p>
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Around 1,300 of Future&#39;s more than 1,700 retail outlets in 400 cities sell groceries. It has a large customer base with its budget supermarkets catering to middle-class shoppers, while its upmarket stores offer products like expensive imported cheese for the affluent class.&nbsp;</p>
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Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani, the world&rsquo;s richest men, have clashed in the chase for this market share to forge ahead in the fast-growing Indian organised retail market.&nbsp;</p>
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On July 29, the Supreme Court had reserved its judgment in Amazon&rsquo;s appeal against a Delhi High Court order staying a previous order directing the attachment of properties of Future Group companies and Kishore Biyani in relation to the Future-Reliance deal.</p>
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The Supreme Court had on February 22 barred a final ruling by a tribunal reviewing Future Group&rsquo;s $3.4-billion sale of retail assets until the Court heard objections from Amazon.</p>
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