Amazon urged SC to Future Retail (FRL)-Reliance Retail deal

Amazon urged the Supreme Court to execute Singapore's Emergency Arbitrator (EA) order restraining Future Retail (FRL) from going ahead with its Rs 24,713 crore merger deal with Reliance Retail.

The US-based e-commerce giant said the EA award of Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) was enforceable and the single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court rightly gave an interim order in its favour granting a stay on the ongoing amalgamation.

Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium said a division bench of the high court erred in entertaining the Future group's appeal and granting it relief by paving the way for the deal.

On February 22, in its interim order, the apex court had asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) not to pass the final order on the amalgamation. The Future group had moved the tribunal seeking regulatory approvals to the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance.

Amazon moved the top court against the order of the Delhi High Court division bench which paved the way for the Reliance-FRL deal.

On February 8, the division bench had stayed the single-judge direction to FRL and various statutory authorities to maintain the status quo on the mega deal. The interim direction was passed on FRL's appeal challenging the February 2 order of the single judge.