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After blocking Future Retail sale to Reliance Industries, Amazon has hit out against Mukesh Ambani-backed company for proposing another deal to acquire Kishore Biyani’s supply chain and logistics business.
Amazon, in a letter to Biyani, said both Reliance Industries and Future Group along with its promoters are “willing collaborators” in committing a “fraud.” The e-commerce giant has also threatened further legal action against Future Group.
“Unless corrective action is taken by you, in larger public interest with a view to preserving the rule of law, you would be liable in law to all consequences for such illegal actions,” Amazon warned after recent media reports indicated that Future Supply Chain was in fresh conversation with Reliance to acquire its assets.
Tussle for Future Group
Almost two years ago, Reliance Retail had agreed to buy out assets from Kishore Biyani-led Future Group’s retail, supply chain, logistics, fashion and lifestyle businesses for ₹24,713 crore. This deal was opposed by Amazon stating that the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (MDA) Group was one of the restricted parties which Amazon had prohibited Future Group from dealing with. While neither Reliance nor Future has confirmed or denied the deal on the logistics business, Amazon, in its June 6 letter, said the supply chain and logistics businesses were a part of the 2019 deal which were approved by Future Group, thus, they are also barred from being sold to Reliance Retail under the interim order by the Singapore arbitration tribunal.
“The new-found conducive discussion belies the statements made by FRL in the March 16 disclosure whereby, FRL had claimed that the MDA Group had ‘forcefully’ taken over the Retail Stores and its Board of Directors have taken a ‘strong objection’ to such actions taken by the MDA Group,” Amazon said.
Amazon alleged that the Future group is now intending to enter into a fresh commercial transaction (i.e the Proposed Transaction) for the sale of its supply chain and logistics businesses. These are ancillary and supplementary to the operations of the Retail Stores to the same entity i.e. the MDA Group, which has purportedly forcefully taken over the Retail Stores which contributed 55-65 per cent of the retail revenue operations of FRL.
In a related development, Future Enterprises defaulted on payments of interest due on Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) of ₹1.41 crore on NCDs to the tune of ₹29 crore.
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