Future deal approval | NCLT to continue hearing Reliance Retail’s plea to hold shareholder meet on June 22

The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Mumbai Bench will continue the hearing on Reliance Retail’s plea, to hold a shareholder meeting for approval of its Rs 24,715 crore deal with Future Retail, on June 22.

During the hearing on Monday, the bench heard the details of Reliance Retail’s deal with Future Retail, while Amazon’s counsel objected to it saying that the scheme was “greatly perilous to the company”.

Reliance Retail had moved to NCLT last month to seek its permission for a shareholder meeting. Its parent company Reliance Industries’ counsel Janak Dwarkadas had told the court that RIL and its subsidiaries are not a party to the legal dispute between Amazon and Future Group, which is under consideration of the Supreme Court. Neither are they involved in the arbitration proceedings before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), he had argued.

The tribunal then had set June 21 as the next date for further hearing of the matter and in the meanwhile, it has asked Amazon and Reliance to file written submissions by May 24.

The Future Group has been embroiled with legal battles with Amazon ever since Reliance Industries acquired the former’s retail business which includes Big Bazaar in August 2020. Amazon had then objected to the deal and moved to Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and sought a stay on the deal. Amazon’s objection to the Reliance-Future deal dates back to 2018, when it had bought a 49 percent stake in unlisted Future Coupons Private Limited. According to the company, one of the clauses in the agreement entitled it to pick up a stake in Future Retail at a given date.