Future Retail (FRL) said Wednesday it is committed to getting back the hundreds of stores that have been taken over by the Reliance group, claiming that the “drastic and unilateral action” taken by the latter has come as a surprise.
In a regulatory filing, FRL said its board has taken strong objection to such an action by Reliance Group and has put it on notice to reconsider all other actions initiated over the last few days.
FRL’s board has also notified Reliance that assets such as store fixtures, store infrastructure, merchandise, inventory, etc, belonging to FRL and lying inside these stores are hypothecated as security in favour of the FRL lenders.
The board has called upon Reliance to ensure that the possession of secured assets is not transferred and retained unharmed for the benefit of the lenders.
FRL said post the Reliance Retail merger announced last August, it had been unable to raise capital and failed to make some repayments to lenders. Subsequently, many lessors issued termination notices and filed suits to recover their dues and also to evict FRL. —FE
Amazon to SC: Restrain RIL from Future assets takeover
Written by Indu Bhan
New Delhi: With talks of out of court settlement between Future Group and Amazon failing, the latter on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to restrain Reliance Industries (RIL) from opening any new stores in the premises where the stores of Future Retail (FRL) were located till the time the arbitration tribunal in Singapore disposes of the matter related to the dispute.
“Pass an order restraining the opening of any new store in place of FRL’s retail assets at the same premises… or, in the alternative declare the purported alienation of FRL’s retail assets, being in clear breach of the restraint orders, as null and void,” Amazon, which is involved in a legal dispute with Future over its sale of retail assets to Reliance Retail, said in its fresh application. The SC will hear the matter on March 23. —FE
