Future Coupons to pay Rs 11 crore in Amazon settlement
Under the agreement dated March 13, terms of which were not disclosed, FCPL agreed to pay more than 10% (Rs 11 billion) of the total award amount of over Rs 105 billion, sources close to the matter confirmed to ET.
The dispute between Future Group and Amazon has been raging since October 25, 2020, when the Singapore Emergency Arbitrator blocked Future Retail from proceeding with its Rs 24,500 crore deal with Reliance Retail. Amazon had objected to the sale of FRL’s retail assets to Reliance Retail on the grounds that it had the right of first refusal over Future Group’s retail assets as per a 2019 agreement with a group entity.
Amazon had alleged that Future’s deal with Reliance Retail violated its pre-existing agreement, which included a right of first offer and a non-compete clause. However, in December 2021, the Competition Commission of India revoked the approval it had given to the deal in 2019, creating a new legal impasse in the fight between the two parties. The appeal against the CCI’s decision is also pending before the Supreme Court of India.
Following the agreement, FCPL also withdrew its appeal against the decision of the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) dated 27 June 2025; This decision held that the merger agreement between Reliance Retail and Future Group violated the Biyani-led firm’s pre-existing agreement with Amazon.
While Amazon demanded compensation of 1.436 billion Rupees, SIAC decided to pay 105 billion Rupees compensation to the e-commerce giant. Damages awarded to Amazon include legal and related costs of 77.34 crore rupees and SGD 68,550. SIAC also directed 11 promoters, including Kishore Biyani, to pay compensation of Rs 23.70 billion along with interest compounded at 10.3% per annum from March 9, 2022, until full payment is made for the termination of the FCPL Shareholders Agreement (SHA). The promoters were also required to repay Amazon approximately SGD923,000 in arbitration costs.
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar of the Delhi High Court stated that the disputes between the parties “have been resolved and the agreement has been formally reduced to a Settlement Agreement dated March 13”. Allowing FCPL’s motion to withdraw the petitions, the court said, “Accordingly, the existing petitions, along with the pending application(s), if any, shall be disposed of in accordance with the above terms,” drawing curtains on the long-standing Amazon-Future deal. conflict.
The three-member court said Amazon was entitled to damages for repudiatory breaches of the Future Coupon Shareholders Agreement (FCPL SHA), but did not agree on the amount of damages measured by Amazon. It said that the 2020 board resolution approving the sale of retail, wholesale and logistics assets of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) to the Mukesh Ambani-led firm for Rs 24,713 million violated the contractual obligations under the Shareholders Agreement and Share Subscription Agreement signed between Amazon and FCPL.
The court noted that 835 of FRL’s 1,534 retail stores were transferred in violation of Amazon’s contractual rights arising from its acquisition of 49% in FCPL for Rs 1,400 crore in 2019. FCPL held 10% stake in FRL.
