In a final award issued late Thursday night, the three-member tribunal said the 2020 board resolution by Future Retail Ltd (FRL) approving the sale of its retail, wholesale, and logistics assets to Reliance was in breach of contractual obligations under the Shareholders’ Agreement (SHA) and Share Subscription Agreement (SSA) signed between Amazon and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL).
While Amazon had sought damages of Rs 1,436 crore, the tribunal awarded a significantly smaller sum of Rs 23.7 crore. It directed 11 promoters and parties, including Kishore Biyani, to jointly and severally pay the amount, along with interest at 10.3% annually (compounded) from March 9, 2022, until full payment. The parties are also liable to bear Amazon’s arbitration and litigation costs.
The tribunal noted that 835 of FRL’s 1,534 retail stores were transferred in a manner that breached Amazon’s contractual rights stemming from its 2019 acquisition of 49% in FCPL for Rs 1,400 crore. FCPL held a 10% stake in FRL.
The Amazon-Future legal dispute began in October 2020, when SIAC’s emergency arbitrator restrained Future Retail from proceeding with the Reliance deal. The Future Group had challenged the arbitration, citing the Competition Commission of India’s 2022 suspension of the Amazon-FCPL deal.
