India's Future Group shares jump as Reliance plans retail business takeover

Future Enterprises

28/02/2022 04:44

BENGALURU, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Shares in Future Group
companies surged on Monday following reports that India's top
retailer Reliance Industries  RELI.NS  would take on at least
200 Future Retail stores after the debt-laden group failed to
make lease payments for them to Reliance.
    Shares of Future Supply Chain Solutions  FUTE.NS , Future
Retail  FRTL.NS , Future Lifestyle Fashions  FLFL.NS , Future
Consumer  FTRE.NS  and Future Enterprises  FURE.NS  rose between
7% and 16%.
    Though Future has more than 1,700 outlets, all the 200
stores that Reliance will rebrand as its own will be the group's
flagship supermarket chain Big Bazaar, which was started about
two decades ago by Kishore Biyani, helping him earn the moniker
of father of modern retail in India.
    Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries had
transferred leases of some stores to its name and sublet them to
Future, but is now taking over. Reliance has offered store staff
jobs on existing terms. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V209G
    Reliance's move follows failed efforts since 2020 to close a
$3.4 billion deal to buy the retail assets of Future, whose
partner Amazon.com Inc  AMZN.O  has blocked the transaction
citing violation of contracts. Future denies any
wrongdoing. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2T22QJ

 (Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Chandini.M@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822697;))