Amazon takes on Future over deal with Reliance Retail

In a major turn of events in the buyout of the businesses of the debt laden Future Group by Reliance Retail, e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc has stepped in and said that Future Group violated a contract with it by entering into the sale agreement with the Mukesh Ambani-led retail major.

"We have initiated steps to enforce our contractual rights. As the matter is sub judice, we can't provide details," an Amazon spokesperson said in an e-mail response to IANS.

Last year, Amazon acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons, a Future group entity.

In August, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of RIL announced that it is acquiring the retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing business from the Future Group as going concerns on a slump sale basis for lump sum aggregate consideration of Rs 24,713 crore, subject to adjustments as set out in the composite scheme of arrangement.

The acquisition is part of the scheme in which the Future Group is merging certain companies carrying on the aforesaid businesses into Future Enterprises Limited (FEL).