The Delhi High Court ruled only last week that Future Retail’s $ 3.3 billion sale should be suspended. Although the court noted that his trial has not yet been final, said “immediate orders” were needed to protect Amazon’s rights and ordered all parties involved in the deal “to keep [the] status quo “while deliberating.
This week, however, another bank in the same court decided there was no need to delay the deal after Future Group appealed. The judge has yet to pronounce the final order, but for now Future Retail and Reliance Industries are at an advantage.
Future Retail’s shares jumped 10% on Tuesday.
At the heart of the fight is Future Retail, the dairy cow of the Indian conglomerate Future Group. The retail unit includes brands such as Big Bazaar, a popular supermarket chain.
In August 2019, Amazon invested in a Future Group entity that gave it an approximately 4.8% stake in Future Retail on September 30 last year, according to securities records. The deal gave Amazon the right of first refusal to acquire more shares in Future Retail, according to one of the documents.
Amazon argued that the 2019 agreement between it and Future Group included a non-compete clause, a person familiar with Amazon’s thinking told CNN Business last October. The clause listed 30 restricted parties with which Future Retail and Future Group could not do business, and Reliance was on that list, the person said.
While Monday’s last move allows the deal to continue, the battle is far from over. The Delhi Supreme Court has yet to render its final decision, which could undermine Reliance and Future’s plans once again, according to Bharat Chugh, a Supreme Court lawyer specializing in arbitration law.
Ultimately, the country’s Supreme Court could hear the case, if either party appealed. Future Retail, Reliance and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
– CNN’s Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report.