Future Group- RIL Deal Approved By Competition Commission of India

On Friday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the Future Group-Reliance Retail deal.

"Commission approves acquisition of retail, wholesale, logistics & warehousing businesses of Future Group by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited and Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited," CCI said in a tweet.

In August, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) had announced that its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Limited has acquired the retail, wholesale and logistics businesses of the Future Group for Rs 24,713 crore.

However, Amazon Inc, which holds about 5% stake in Future Retail said that as per their contract, Future Group was restricted to sell off or transfer its assets to the third party without their consent. An arbitration petition was filed by Jeff Bezos-led Amazon with SIAC, last month, claiming that the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group had breached its contract.

On Friday, the Delhi High court reserved its order on Future Retail Limited's plea seeking to restrain Amazon from approaching regulatory bodies against the deal with Reliance's retail arm. The court has concluded hearing arguments by both the parties and asked them to file written submissions by 23 November.

Reliance Retail will now have access to close to 1,800 stores across Future Group's Big Bazaar, FBB, Easyday, Central, Foodhall formats.