On Friday, in what may mark the beginning of the end of one of India’s most closely watched corporate disputes, the Delhi High Court was informed that Amazon and Future Group are engaged in settlement talks following an arbitral award by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) directing the latter to pay Rs. 23.7 crore in damages to the global e-commerce major.
The long-standing dispute stemmed from Amazon’s 2019 investment of Rs. 1,431 crore to acquire a 49% stake in Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL), a Future Group subsidiary that indirectly held an interest in Future Retail Limited (FRL), the operator of the Big Bazaar chain. Given India’s foreign direct investment restrictions in multi-brand retail, the transaction was structured to provide Amazon indirect control over FRL’s operations through FCPL, while contractually preventing Future Group from dealing with certain “restricted entities,” including Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
However, in August 2020, a financially distressed Future Group, reeling from pandemic-related losses and liabilities exceeding Rs. 22,000 crore, announced a Rs. 24,713 crore deal to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing divisions to RIL. Amazon objected, alleging that the deal violated the restrictive covenants in their 2019 investment agreement.
Following the disputed transaction, Amazon initiated arbitration before the SIAC in October 2020, securing an emergency award that halted the Reliance–Future deal. Amazon claimed that the Future Group’s actions amounted to a clear breach of contract, undermining the purpose of its investment structure and the restrictive clauses expressly prohibiting such transactions.
The Future Group, on the other hand, maintained that Amazon’s interference was unwarranted and that the agreements did not prohibit the transaction in the context of its financial distress. The matter evolved into a multi-forum legal battle, involving not just SIAC but also Indian courts and regulatory bodies such as the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which later suspended its prior approval of Amazon’s 2019 investment for alleged nondisclosure of material facts.
In June 2025, the three-member SIAC tribunal, comprising Prof. Albert Jan van den Berg, Prof. Jan Paulsson, and Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, found that Future Group had breached its contractual obligations by entering into the Reliance transaction in violation of the restrictive covenants.
The tribunal directed Future Group to pay Rs. 23.7 crore in damages, along with Rs. 77 crore in legal costs and about Rs. 6 crore in arbitration fees. While Amazon had sought Rs. 1,436 crore, the amount of its investment, the tribunal awarded only a fraction of that sum, allowing approximately 60% of the legal costs incurred before it and denying costs related to proceedings before Indian courts and regulators.
Before the Court, Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL) and Ashni Biyani filed petitions challenging the June 2025 SIAC award. The matter was heard by Justice Jasmeet Singh, who, noting that the parties were in discussions toward an amicable settlement, adjourned the case to January 14, 2026, allowing time for negotiations to progress.
The matter will next be taken up on January 14, 2026, by which time the Court may be apprised of whether the parties have managed to draw the curtain on this long-running corporate saga.
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