Amazon urges Competition Commission of India to revoke approval for Future-Reliance deal
Amazon has asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to rescind its approval for the sale of Future Retail’s $3.4 billion retail assets to Reliance, saying it was “illegally obtained”, the deal Shows a letter seen by Reuters, in violation of the order to suspend it.
According to the letter sent by Amazon.com Inc to CCI last week, approval for the deal was “void in the eyes of law” as the arbitrator’s order was still in force.
The battle between two of the world’s richest men, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Reliance Industries Ltd owner Mukesh Ambani, marks a competition for pre-eminence in India’s fast-growing, nearly trillion-dollar retail market.
Future Retail Ltd, India’s second-largest retailer and winner of Amazon’s battle for an individual local partner, will take the pole position in the race to meet the daily needs of over a billion people.
CCI, Amazon, Future Group and Reliance did not respond to requests for comment.
Future has said the arbitrator’s suspension order was invalid but the courts refused to overturn it. If the regulator agrees to the previously unreported letter, it will be a major setback for oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance.
Amazon last year secured an injunction against the deal from a Singapore intermediary, accusing Future of breach of contracts that prevented it from selling assets to entities including Reliance. But later the CCI cleared the deal.
Future misled the CCI and continued to seek approval for the deal, Amazon said in the letter on Wednesday, calling the injunction a “shameless attempt to subvert the rule of law.” Amazon asks the CCI for a personal hearing to make its case.
The letter comes as Amazon is also battling allegations that it misrepresented facts and hid information while seeking antitrust clearance for its 2019 deal with Future Group. Amazon has so far successfully used the contracts of this deal to block Futures’ deal with Reliance.
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