In a setback for US e-commerce giant Amazon, a two-judge bench of the Delhi high court lifted the status quo order on Future Group’s deal with Reliance Industries (RIL). Earlier, based on Amazon’s petition, a single-judge order had asked Future and all other authorities to maintain status quo on the £2.47 billion Future-RIL deal. Amazon had moved the HC to enforce the emergency order from Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and stop Future from taking any steps to complete the RIL deal.
The HC will hear the matter again later this month but noted that authorities like markets regulator Sebi and antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) could not be restrained from ‘proceeding in accordance with law’. The single judge bench is yet to give its final order on the original Amazon petition as well.
“The bench comprising of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, has stayed the operation and effect of order passed by single judge, for the prima facie reason that the company is not a party to the shareholders agreement dated August 22, 2019, executed between Amazon, Future Coupons and the promoters of Future Retail, under which arbitration was initiated by Amazon in Singapore,” a filing to the BSE said. An Amazon India spokesperson did not comment on the latest development.
Future Retail has filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking approval for its deal with RIL. Sebi has given a conditional nod to the deal, and CCI has cleared the deal.
Sebi bans Biyani, four others for insider trading
Markets regulator Sebi banned Kishore Biyani, the promoter of Future Group, and four other related entities from the market for one year for insider trading in the shares of Future Retail. These five entities have also been barred from dealing in the shares of the same company for two years.
The Sebi order came at a time when the Future Group is involved in several court and arbitration cases involving Amazon, which is trying to block Biyani’s deal to sell the retail business to RIL. Through an earlier deal signed August 2019, Amazon had invested £ 143.1million in Future Coupons, which held about 10% stake in the group flagship, Future Retail.
Some corporate lawyers said that the SEBI order may have some implications for the Indian company, but is unlikely to impact the Amazon pact. The SEBI order relates to trading in the shares of Future Retail using unpublished price-sensitive information by Biyani and his associates when the group was undergoing a restructuring in March-April 2017. The order was passed against Future Corporate Resources, Kishore Biyani, Anil Biyani, FCRL Employee Welfare Trust, Rajesh Pathak, Rajkumar Pande, Virendra Samani and Arpit Maheshwari.
