Jeff Bezos, Mukesh Ambani set for long-drawn war over Future Retail

As Reliance Industries Ltd RIL stepped into the ecommerce space with JioMart speculations ran rife over two of worlds richest individuals up for a confrontation in the market But RILs proposed acquisition of Future Groups retail business has just pitched both behemoths Jeff Bezos Amazon and Mukesh Ambanis RIL against each other in a legal battle which now seems to be heading towards a longdrawn warAfter a Singapore arbitration court ordered a temporary halt in the acquisition process Future Retail has hinted at challenging the interim orderIndicating that the matter should not have been dealt with by an overseas arbitration court Future Retail said that all the relevant agreements are governed by Indian law and provisions of the Indian Arbitration Act for all intents and purposes and this matter raises several fundamental jurisdictional issues which go to the root of the matterAccording to Future the order will have to be tested under the provisions of Indian Arbitration Act in an appropriate forumSources close to Amazon however said that the eventuality of moving to Singapore International Arbitration Centre SIAC in case of an issue in the deal was part of the agreement done between Future and Amazon in which Amazon acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons a Future group entityAs the final order in the matter is yet to come from the arbitration court Future Retails statement that the need to test the order under the Indian Arbitration Act in an appropriate forum shows that the another front might be opened up for the battle this time in an Indian courtPost the interim ruling an Amazon spokesperson had said on Sunday We welcome the award of the Emergency Arbitrator We are grateful for the order which grants all the reliefs that were sought We remain committed to an expeditious conclusion of the arbitration processSources said that even if Future approaches a legal forum in India the arbitration in Singapore will continueThis very battle is as much important for Mukesh Ambaniled RIL as it is for Kishore Biyaniled Future as this very deal would have made Reliance Retail a retail behemoth As per several analysts Reliance Retail would become the third largest retailer in the worldShowing its resolve to complete the proposed acquisition Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd on Sunday said that it intends to enforce its rights and complete the transaction in terms of the scheme and agreement with Future group without any delayThe arbitration also features legal eagles Harish Salve appeared for the Future Retail being acquired by RIL while Singaporebased lawyer Davinder Singh appeared on behalf of Future Coupons Pvt LtdGopal Subramanium former Solicitor General of India appeared for AmazonEarlier this month Amazon said that Future Group violated a contract with it by entering into the sale agreement with the Mukesh Ambaniled retail majorLast year Amazon acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons a Future group entityIn August Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd RRVL a subsidiary of RIL had announced that it is acquiring the retail wholesale logistics and warehousing business from the Future Group as going concerns on a slump sale basis for lumpsum aggregate consideration of Rs 24713 crore subject to adjustments as set out in the composite scheme of arrangementThe acquisition is part of the scheme in which the Future Group is merging certain companies carrying on the aforesaid businesses into Future Enterprises Ltd FELThe fight between two of worlds richest tycoons Bezos and Ambani seems unlikely to end anytime soonKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever