Reliance Industries Calls Off Rs 24,713 Crore Deal With Future Group. Here Is The Timeline Of Events

Reliance Industries on Saturday said its Rs 24,713-crore deal with the Future Group cannot go ahead as secured creditors of the latter have voted against it.

In a regulatory filing, Reliance said Future Group companies comprising Future Retail Limited (FRL) and other listed companies involved in the scheme have intimated the results of the voting on the scheme of arrangement by their shareholders and creditors at their respective meetings.

Here is the timeline of how events unfolded

August 2019 

Amazon inks deal with Future Coupons, a company of the Future Group, to buy 49% stake. It gives Amazon an option of an indirect stake of 3.58% in Future Retail, as Future Coupons holds 7.3% stake in Future Retail

August 2020 

Future Group agrees to sell its retail, wholesale and logistics business to Reliance Retail for Rs 24,713 crore

October 2020

Alarmed at the announcement of Future-Reliance deal, Amazon approaches Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and gets an interim award to stop the deal

November 2020

While Future Group takes Amazon to the Delhi high court, the Competition Commission of India approves the Future-Reliance deal. Next month, the HC rules out staying the deal

January 2021

SEBI okays Reliance-Future deal

February 2021

A single-judge Delhi high court bench upholds SIAC’s emergency award that effectively stays Future-Reliance deal. Next day, a division bench stays the single-judge order

Amazon approaches the Supreme Court, while NCLT starts hearing Future Group’s petition for approval of the deal by shareholders, but the SC asks not to pass a final order

August 2021

The SC upholds SIAC’s emergency award, calling it enforceable under Indian arbitration law

October 2021

SIAC decides Future’s application to lift interim stay in favour of Amazon and calling Future Retail a party to the dispute with Amazon

December 2021

The CCI suspends approval for Amazon’s 2019 investment in Future Coupons, which promoted Future Retail to petition SIAC for dropping arbitration proceedings. SIAC declines Future’s plea

February 2022 

Reliance takes control of hundreds of Future Retail’s stores, citing non-payment of rent, after assuming many of the leases held by cash-strapped Future

April 2022 

Reliance Retail announces that its deal with Future Retail is dead after its secured creditors rejected it