Future Retail says Amazon’s disputed order is not binding on the company

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian company Future Retail Ltd (FRL) said on Sunday that the order of a Singapore arbitrator in its dispute with Amazon.com Inc is not enforceable under Indian law and is not binding the society.

Amazon on October 25 obtained an injunction from the arbitrator to end FRL’s deal to sell its retail assets to Reliance Industries for $ 3.4 billion, arguing that the Indian retail group had violated some pre-existing agreements he had with the American e-commerce giant.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s FRL and Reliance said in press releases later that they wanted to pursue the deal without delay, paving the way for a showdown between Indian companies and Amazon led by Jeff Bezos.

Calling the proceedings before the so-called “emergency arbitrator” void, the FRL told Indian exchanges that any attempt by Amazon to enforce the order will be resisted.

“FRL is also in the process of taking appropriate legal steps to protect its rights,” the company’s regulatory record said on Sunday.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FRL’s filing comes after Reuters reported on Saturday that Amazon complained separately to India’s market regulator, alleging the Indian company misled shareholders by falsely saying it was complying with its contractual obligations , requesting the suspension of the regulatory review of the agreement.

In its Sunday filing, the FRL said it had complied with all regulatory requirements and urged the market regulator and Indian exchanges to continue to review its deal with Reliance for approval.

The dispute revolves around FRL’s August decision to sell its retail, wholesale and other businesses to Reliance for $ 3.38 billion, including debt.

Amazon argues that a separate agreement in 2019 with a Future unit contained clauses stating that the Indian group could not sell its retail assets to anyone on a “restricted” list, including companies in the group from Reliance Chief Mukesh Ambani.

The agreement specified that any dispute would be arbitrated in accordance with the rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Center.