Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

India retail king Biyani expects completion of Future's $3.4 billion deal despite Amazon dispute

India retail king Biyani expects completion of Future's $3.4 billion deal despite Amazon dispute

India's Future Group expects swift regulatory approval of its $3.4 billion deal to sell its retail assets, its chief executive said, even as its warring business partner Amazon.com Inc intensifies efforts to block the deal.

Future and Amazon are at loggerheads over the Indian group's August deal with Reliance Industries Ltd. The US giant alleges the deal breached some of its pre-existing contracts with Future.


A New Delhi court in December dismissed Future's request to restrain Amazon's repeated attempts to get authorities to stall the deal. But the judge left the fate of the transaction with the regulators.

"The court has already given their view that every institution can take a view" on the sale, Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani told Reuters in an interview. "So there is no reason why things should be delayed."

Amazon declined to comment on Biyani's remarks. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the market regulator that has been reviewing the deal for months, did not respond to a request for comment.

SEBI and India's stock exchanges could still reject or take more time in approving the deal, which is critical for the survival of Future Retail, whose more than 1,700 outlets were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future Retail has warned that failure to close the deal could lead to the company's liquidation and job losses for more than 29,000 employees.

"We have restored businesses to a certain extent, but there are challenges," said Biyani, dubbed India's retail king for transforming the country's retailing in recent decades.

AMAZON PROTESTS

The outcome of the dispute embroiling Future, Reliance and Amazon is seen shaping India's retail landscape, especially in deciding who will have an upper hand in the groceries market expected to be worth around $740 billion a year by 2024.

Following Amazon's 2019 deal with a Future unit, the Indian retailer's groceries and fashion products are offered for sale on Amazon's website, while Future stores also act as local warehouses serving the US giant's food supply chain.

Biyani said he had no intention of changing his business ties with Amazon despite the souring relationship. Criticising Amazon, however, Biyani said he was confused what Amazon wanted to achieve by blocking his deal.

"I am disappointed," he said. "What do they want? They want so many employees to suffer, business to go down?"

Amazon also took Future to a Singapore arbitrator, which passed an interim order in October saying the Reliance deal should be halted. Although Future says that order is not binding, the U.S. e-commerce giant is continuing its efforts to block the deal.

In a letter on Tuesday, Amazon asked Indian stock exchanges BSE and NSE to suspend their review of the deal in light of the ongoing Singapore arbitration.

To buttress its case, Amazon on Dec. 30 shared with the exchanges a confidential 63-page legal opinion signed by a former chief justice of India, Dipak Misra. In the opinion, seen by Reuters, Misra said SEBI or any other statutory authority "cannot ignore" the interim order passed by the arbitrator.

Misra and the NSE did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment. BSE declined to comment.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less