Tag: Future Retail

SC seeks Future’s response on Amazon’s plea on resumption of arbitration & FRL assets

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Future group to file its reply to an interim plea of US e-commerce major Amazon seeking resumption of arbitration over Future Retail’s merger deal with Reliance Retail and a direction to ensure the preservation of FRL’s assets.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli was told by Amazon that besides seeking resumption of arbitral proceedings, it wanted an order so that the FRL’s assets are there for it if it wins in the arbitration as the applecart was being upset.

We will hear it on March 23 and pass some orders. Meanwhile, you (Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Private Ltd) file the reply, the bench told senior lawyers Gopal Subramanium and Ranjit Kumar who were appearing for the US e-commerce firm.

(more…)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Amazon-Future-RIL saga: US retailer launches fresh attack

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amazon.com has attacked Future and Reliance in a long fight to retain a hold in the Indian retail market. In newspaper advertisements, the US retail giant has accused the two Indian retailers of fraud after Reliance took over many Future Retail stores.

Amazon contests the Rs 24,713 crore sale of Future Group’s retail assets to Reliance in 2020. The case is before the Supreme Court. Late last month, Reliance took over the operations of Future Retail stores and offered jobs to its employees. Stores are now being rebranded under the Reliance Retail label.

Amazon’s “public notice” in Indian newspapers on Tuesday said: “These actions have been done clandestinely by playing a fraud on the constitutional courts in India.” Amazon’s outcry comes even though on March 3, it offered to hold talks, raising hopes of stakeholders the dispute could be resolved.

The takeover of Future Retail stores came after the firm acknowledged that it had been finding it challenging to finance working capital needs in an exchange filing. Many employees and vendors were not receiving salaries for months, and rental dues were delayed for years.

Also Read: As US lawmakers seek probe into Amazon, CAIT says time for Indian regulators to wake up

Once a pioneer in the industry, Future Retail’s acute financial troubles increased during the pandemic’s closures. In August 2020, Future negotiated to sell its retail assets to Reliance. At the time, the outstanding to creditors and landlords exceeded Rs 6,000 crore. This was when Amazon moved several judicial forums against the deal, citing another agreement with Future.

The long-drawn legal tussle made it harder for stores to carry on business as usual amid the pandemic, creating payment uncertainties and delays for employees and landlords and hit vendor businesses.

Despite getting support from Reliance, Future Retail incurred over Rs 4,445 crore losses during the calendar year 2021. Sources said that to help Future Retail contain losses, Reliance exercised its rights to control and manage the loss-making stores. According to sectoral experts, had the situation persisted, Future Group would have plunged into insolvency.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Also Read: Amazon-Future-RIL saga: A look back at when and how the battle began

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Top News Podcast: Oil near $120; Amazon, Future agree for talks to resolve dispute; govt to evacuate Indians in Ukraine within 3 days

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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While the Russia-Ukraine war has kept stock market investors cautious, commodities are witnessing a bull run and experts believe it’s likely to continue.

On Thursday, Sensex shed 366.2 points to end at 55,102.7, and the broader Nifty50 benchmark settled at 16,498.1, down 107.9 points from its previous close. ONGC, UPL, Power Grid, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Indian Oil and Coal India rose the most whereas UltraTech, Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Shree Cement, Eicher Motors, SBI Life and Tata Consumer were the top laggards.

Meanwhile, crude oil inched closer to the $120 per barrel mark after hitting the highest level in almost a decade. Gold prices crossed $1900 per ounce, nearly at an all-time high.

Apart from market updates, in this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the latest on the geopolitical tensions in Russia and Ukraine, assembly elections back home, the Future vs Amazon case, and more.

The war has entered its eighth day and the Russian military has intensified its assault on Ukrainian cities. Forces have captured at least one city Kherson in south Ukraine and pressed further into the strategic port towns of Odesa and Mariupol.

Meanwhile, the two sides are likely to meet for a second round of talks on ceasefire today. A Russian negotiator said a ceasefire was on the agenda, but Ukraine has said Moscow’s demands are unacceptable and Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before any progress can be expected.

Back home, the Indian government has promised to evacuate all Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine within three days. So far, 17,000 Indians have left Ukraine but not all have been able to return yet. Nearly 4,000 Indian students have returned home until now and around 3,000 students are still estimated to be still in the war-hit country.

Voting for the sixth round of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls was held today for 57 seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress’ Ajay Kumar Lallu, and Samajwadi Party’s Swami Prasad Maurya were among the big weights in the fray.

Meanwhile, political leaders continued to hold campaign rallies for the last phase of polls on March 7. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee campaigned for Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav in UP. During a rally, she accused PM Modi of being busy in poll meetings while Indians are stranded in war-hit Ukraine. Modi, on the other hand, alleged that the Opposition is trying to divide society for votes at a time when India needs to be strong to deal with “serious challenges” the world faces.

Tune in to Top News Podcast for more

In case you have any queries or suggestions, please write to us on cnbctv18podcast@nw18.com

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Future Retail employees, vendors, landlords breathe easy as Reliance begins takeover

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Vendors, suppliers, landlords and employees of Future Group retail stores are a happier lot these days after Reliance started taking operational charge of the former’s stores. Many of the employees and vendors were not receiving salaries for months, and rental dues were delayed for years. With Future Retail acknowledging in an exchange filing recently that it had been finding it challenging to finance working capital needs, stakeholders were on the edge.

“Hardships are obvious when you do not receive salary for months,” Pankaj Bansal, a former landlord of Easy Day Mart, told ANI, claiming employees were sometimes receiving partial salaries. “With a strong group like Reliance taking over, employees will receive salaries on time.”

Reliance has started making job offers to Future Group’s retail network employees. The network employs nearly 30,000 people.

Bansal also said the takeover has “relaxed” him as this would ensure timely rent payments.

“I have an Easy Day outlet in Ballabgarh (in Faridabad district of Haryana). Easy Day failed to give rent for many past months. Many times they did not pay rent on time. This has been happening for the past two years. During COVID-19, they didn’t pay a single penny to us. So, we connected with Reliance Group,” Bansal told ANI.

Bansal is not alone. Many others like him approached Reliance, offering them leases of their stores, as they were unsure the Future group would clear rental dues. By January 2021, Future group had received termination notices for many leased stores due to huge outstandings.

Also Read: Reliance takes charge of Future

Explaining his time with Future Group, NPVS Raju, a landlord and vendor of Heritage store in Hyderabad, told ANI: “We started the Heritage stores in 2011, and it was the first store in the area. Future Group took over from Heritage after seven years. Since then, we have suffered due to irregular payments.”

He rued stores were not appropriately maintained, sales went down, and there were not enough employees. “They didn’t pay power bills on time, and there were power cuts. We had to interfere,” he told ANI. “Once the Reliance Group takes over, we see a good future for the stores and the hope the accounts will be regular.”

Not just vendors and employees, the markets, too, gave a green signal. Shares of Future Retail, Future Enterprises, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Future Lifestyle Fashions and Future Consumer gained after the news of Reliance’s rescue of Future stores came out.

Stores are now being rebranded under the Reliance Retail label. Reliance has also ensured payment of dues to a number of landlords by signing lease agreements for their premises. So far, Reliance has incurred an expense of over Rs 1,500 crore towards payment of dues, as per sources. Working capital support to Future Retail to the tune of Rs 3,700 crore will also be extended, according to the sources. This has enabled Future Retail to pay dues and continue its business operations.

Experts say the move would be beneficial for all stakeholders and open up new opportunities.

Also Read: Future Group stocks jump as RIL steps in to rescue Future Retail

“Dues were pending for seven years. Reliance is a big player in the industry, and the money will be recovered with its entry,” Shammi Thakur, managing partner of Ambesten Marketing Solutions, told ANI.

Once a pioneer in the industry, Future Retail’s acute financial troubles increased during the pandemic’s closures. In August 2020, Future negotiated to sell its retail assets to Reliance. At the time, the outstanding to creditors and landlords exceeded Rs 6,000 crore. But Amazon moved several judicial forums against the deal, citing another agreement with Future.

The long-drawn legal tussle made it harder for stores to carry on business as usual amid the pandemic, creating payment uncertainties and delays for employees and landlords and hit vendor businesses.

Despite getting support from Reliance, Future Retail incurred over Rs 4,445 crore losses during the calendar year 2021. Sources said that to help Future Retail contain losses, Reliance exercised its rights to control and manage the loss-making stores. According to sectoral experts, had the situation persisted, Future Group would have plunged into insolvency.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow