The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday reserved its order in the matter concerning Amazon challenge to the order of the Competition Commission of India, which in December 2021 suspended its earlier order approving the deal with Future Coupons, a Future Group entity. The CCI order has a bearing on Amazon challenging the August 2020 deal Future Retail struck with Reliance Retail in various legal forums. The deal was aborted late last week after it failed to get the approval of the lenders of Future Group.
“Hearing is completed. The judgment is reserved,” said the two-member NCLAT bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and VP Singh.
In its December 17, 2021 order, the anti-trust regulator had said an approval granted to Amazon over two years earlier to acquire a 49% stake in Future Coupons (FCPL) would ‘stand in abeyance,’ as the firm suppressed information while seeking clearance. The CCI also imposed a Rs 202 crore penalty on Amazon.
The CCI’s order was on complaints filed by FPCL, Future Retail’s independent directors and the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), all of whom alleged that Amazon had not disclosed the intent to indirectly control Future Retail, the parent firm of FCPL, via its 49% stake in FCPL.
During the course of the argument, Amazon said all agreements regarding buying 49% stake in FCPL were disclosed before the CCI and nothing was hidden. Competition assessment of the deal was also undertaken by the Commission and it was held that there was no appreciable adverse effect on the competition. It said that after assessing all this the CCI had granted the approval.
Amazon also argued that the initial order of approval was a speaking order or the one which explains the rationale behind the order.
from | The Financial Express https://ift.tt/wS1le6x
https://ift.tt/egoE2OB Anish Mondal
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