India’s apex court on Friday ruled in favor of Amazon to stall the sale of Future Group to Reliance Industries in a major victory for the American e-commerce giant in the key overseas market.
The Indian Supreme Court said the order by a Singapore arbitration court last year — which had ruled to stall the deal between the two Indian giants — is enforceable in India.
Reliance Retail said a year ago it had reached an agreement with Future Group to acquire the latter’s retail and wholesaler business, as well as its logistics and warehousing business, for $3.4 billion.
Amazon, which had invested in one of Future Group’s units, accused the Indian firm of violating its terms and reached a Singapore arbitrator to halt the deal. The Indian firms had argued at the time that a Singapore’s court order wasn’t valid in the South Asian market.
Shares of Future Retail dropped 6% on the order, while Reliance Industries — the conglomerate that runs Reliance Retail — were down 1.3%.
More to follow…