Shares of fast moving consumer goods company, Future Retail Ltd, rose as much as 4.7 per cent to Rs 454 as a media report said that Amazon.com Inc is likely to buy an at least 7-8 per cent stake in Future Retail Ltd through an investment arm.
The potential cash-and-stock deal, which is in its final stages, could be worth Rs 2,500 crore ($338 million) and is likely to be signed in the next two weeks. Earlier this year, media reports said Amazon was in talks to buy a 10 per cent stake in Future Retail, competing with tech giant Google and Alibaba-backed Paytm. Future Retail had denied the reports.
The potential deal will be next in a series of acquisitions by Amazon.com Inc in one of the fastest-growing markets in the face of competition from Walmart Inc's Flipkart. In September, Amazon, along with private equity firm Samara Capital, had bought Aditya Birla Group-owned 'More' retail chain for an enterprise value of Rs 4,200 crore ($568.03 million).
Amazon India and Future Retail did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Future Retail shares rose over 6 per cent on August 27 on reports that global tech giants Google and Amazon were in talks for a stake buy. The stock had fallen 17.4 per cent this year as of last close.