Ambani nears deal to buy stake in Amazon’s partner

Bloomberg

Reliance Industries Ltd. is closing in on a deal that would see it acquire stakes in some units of Future Group, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would bolster the e-commerce ambitions of the conglomerate and its billionaire Chairman Mukesh Ambani.
An agreement between Ambani’s Reliance and Future, which already has a partnership with Amazon.com Inc., could be announced as early as next month, reports said. Though unit Future Retail Ltd. has attracted suitors, including Amazon, Reliance’s offer to buy into group’s holding company is likely to sway the outcome in its favour, the people said.
The Future Group has five main listed units including Future Consumer Ltd., which sells food, home and personal care products, and Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd. that operates fashion discount chain Brand Factory. No final decision has been made and the talks could still get delayed or fail to result in a transaction.
A successful deal may draw the battle lines between Amazon and Ambani, 63, who just secured almost $14 billion for his e-commerce venture Jio Platforms Ltd. from investors including Facebook Inc.
A representative for Reliance Industries said the company “evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis” and declined to comment further.
A spokesman for Future Group declined to comment.
A successful deal may draw the battle lines between Amazon and Ambani, 63, who just secured almost $14 billion for his e-commerce venture Jio Platforms Ltd. from investors including Facebook Inc. Amazon has made the nascent Indian market, with its 1.3 billion consumers, a key focus of its global expansion. Investment from Reliance, India’s most valuable company, would help Future’s founder Kishore Biyani pare debt, even if it risks the tie-up with the U.S. online shopping giant announced by the Mumbai-based company a few months ago.
The talks involving Future Group are part of the intensifying war to win over the Indian shopper — both online and in physical stores. Amazon has already pledged to invest $5.5 billion in the country, while Walmart Inc. spent $16 billion to buy local e-commerce leader Flipkart Online Services Pvt. in 2018.
Shares of Future Retail jumped about 5% in Mumbai on Thursday, paring the year’s loss to 69% and giving it a market value of $757 million. Future Lifestyle rose 3%, while Future Enterprises Ltd. and Future Consumer surged about 5%.
In August, Seattle-based Amazon agreed to purchase 49% of one of Future Group’s unlisted firms, allowing it to buy into Future Retail after a period of between three and 10 years. The two deepened that partnership in January, with Amazon becoming the authorized online sales channel for Future Retail’s stores that sell everything from groceries to cosmetics and apparel.
Amazon, which holds an indirect stake of 1.3% in Future Retail as a result of purchasing 49% of Future Coupons Ltd., will continue to retain that stake and also the right to raise its holdings to a certain extent, the people said. As recently as May, Amazon was considering adding to its investment in Future Retail for a holding of as much as 49%, people familiar with the matter said last month.