Amazon challenges India's antitrust suspension of 2019 Future deal-sources

Future Retail

09/01/2022 05:43

By Aditya Kalra
    NEW DELHI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc  AMZN.O  has
filed a legal challenge at an Indian  tribunal against the
national antitrust agency's supension of a 2019 deal it had with
Indian retailer Future Group, two sources with direct knowledge
told Reuters on Sunday.
    India's antitrust agency suspended its approval of
Amazon.com's 2019 deal with Future Group last month, potentially
denting the U.S. e-commerce giant's attempts to block the sale
of Future's retail assets to an Indian market leader.
    The suspension https://reut.rs/34DDiJf has jolted Amazon as
it subsequently led to a halt in the arbitration proceedings
https://reut.rs/33d4ZYr between the two sides in a long-running
commercial dispute.
    Amazon has long argued that Future violated the terms of its
2019 deal in deciding to sell retail assets to market leader
Reliance Industries  RELI.NS , and the U.S. company's position
had so far been backed by the Singapore arbitrator and Indian
courts. Future denies any wrongdoing.
    But the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last month
suspended that deal saying Amazon suppressed information while
seeking clearances for the deal back then.
    Amazon filed an appeal against CCI's decision at India's
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal late on Saturday night,
the two sources said.
    The appeal will be heard later this week, said one of the
persons.
    Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CCI also did not respond.
    

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Ana
Nicolaci da Costa)
 ((aditya.kalra@tr.com; +91-11-49548021; Twitter @adityakalra;))