The country’s antitrust body on Friday suspended Amazon.com’s 2019 deal with Future Group following a review of allegations that the US e-commerce giant had concealed information while seeking regulatory approval.
The unprecedented step taken by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) could have far-reaching consequences on Amazon’s legal battles with now estranged partner Future.
The U.S. firm has for months successfully used the terms of its toehold $200 million investment in 2019 to block Future’s attempt to sell retail assets to Reliance Industries for $3.4 billion.
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The commission has additionally asked Amazon to again file a detailed Form II within a period of 60 days. Future Group had complained to the CCI following which the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the e-commerce major in July 2021.
The approval was given by the regulator back in November 2019 for Amazon’s deal to buy a 49 percent stake in Future Coupons. In a 57-page order, the regulator said that approval “shall remain in abeyance”.
Earlier this week, Amazon had warned CCI that revoking its 2019 deal with Future Group would send a negative signal to foreign investors and allow local retail behemoth Reliance to “further restrict competition”, a legal document seen by Reuters showed.
(With inputs from Reuters)