SEBI approves Reliance Retail–Future Group deal, with caveats
January 21, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has given its go-ahead for Reliance Retail’s acquisition of Future Retail Limited’s retail, logistics and warehousing entities, according to a letter sent to Future Retail by the Bombay Stock Exchange. This is one of several more clearances that the deal, valued at ₹24,713 crore, will require before it is finalized. Shareholders and the National Company Law Tribunal will have to okay the deal as well.
The deal is facing resistance from Amazon, which obtained an arbitration order from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre last year putting the transaction on hold, claiming an earlier investment it made in a promoter entity of Future gave it the option of vetoing this deal. However, Reliance and Future Retail have been moving ahead, fighting against Amazon’s claim in court, even as it insists to regulators that the company’s claims have no me