Future group, India’s second-largest retail chain, is planning to approach the Supreme Court in order to avoid being named as a defaulter as the company missed payments to its lenders worth $470 million by December 31, 2021, Reuters reported citing sources.
The company cited the ongoing legal dispute with the US e-commerce giant Amazon as the reason for its failure to repay the dues. Earlier, Future Group told the Indian Exchange that it will use the 30-day grace period to resolve the issue.
If the Future Group fails to resolve the issue within the stipulated time period, which ends on January 30, the company’s accounts will be classified as a non-performing asset and would be Future Group declared as a defaulter as per Indian banking laws.
Notably, Future Group, which has 1,700 outlets including 900 small stores, is also likely to ask for an extension of the grace period, so that it can sell its small stores and repay its dues.
The development comes as Amazon has drawn several legal challenges against Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, alleging that the company violated certain non-contractual terms of the 2019 deal worth $200 million, between the two companies. Future has denied the allegations.
Amazon has also contested the $3.4 billion deal between Future Retail and Reliance Retail, for the selling of Future Retail’s assets to the latter.
