Reliance-Future supermarket merger deal cleared by regulator |
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 20th January cleared the Reliance Industries` 3.3 bn dollars deal to buy Future Group`s retail assets. It is seen as a blow to Amazon`s efforts to block the agreement. The Bombay Stock Exchange also granted its "no adverse observation" report to the deal with the clearance from the market regulator that included some riders. The SEBI has said the case pending before the Delhi High Court and arbitration proceedings by the global e-commerce major Amazon contesting the deal should be specifically mentioned by Future Group while seeking shareholders or the National Company Law Tribunal approval. SEBI`s go-ahead on the draft scheme of arrangement would be subject to the outcome of these proceedings. Last month, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea from Future Group that sought to restrain Amazon from interfering in the asset sale to Reliance. The Future Group sold its retail assets in August to Reliance in a deal that Amazon said breached agreements that Future made with the US E-commerce leader in 2019. Future is widely credited as transforming India`s retail sector in recent decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the business so hard that founder Kishore Biyani sought a buyer. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Future`s sale of its retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing businesses to billionaire Mukesh Ambani`s Reliance in November.
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