(Bloomberg) — An arbitration court in Singapore has rejected Future Retail Ltd.’s plea to lift an interim stay on its deal to sell assets to Reliance Industries Ltd., according to people with the knowledge of the matter.
Acting on the case initiated by Amazon.com Inc., arbitrators informed both sides to the case and their lawyers about the decision during a conference on Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules on speaking to the media. An official communication and the verdict will be sent to the parties in the coming days.
The decision, though interim, arms Amazon with more grounds to seek stricter orders against Future group from Indian courts to stop any progress in the deal. India’s Supreme Court had in September allowed procedural steps for the deal while saying final approval cannot be given.
Earlier this week, the panel rejected another application by Future Retail to be excluded from the arbitration saying the Future group firm must take part in the dispute with Amazon, according to a Reuters report.
Amazon has already petitioned India’s Supreme Court against a company court ruling that allowed Future group firms to meet with creditors to seek approvals for the deal, according to Future Retail’s filing to the exchanges on Wednesday. Spokesmen at Amazon and Future did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
The verdict confirms an October 2020 halt to the deal given by an emergency arbitrator till a final ruling. The tribunal is scheduled to the hear arguments in the first week of November.
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