Future Coupons agrees to pay over Rs 11 crore as both sides withdraw all legal proceedings, closing a prolonged dispute linked to the Reliance Retail deal
Amazon and Future Coupons have settled their long-standing dispute, agreeing to withdraw all cases filed across various legal forums under a settlement finalised on 13 March this year. As per the agreement details of which remain undisclosed, Future Coupons will pay slightly over 10 per cent, or about Rs 11 crore, of the total arbitral award exceeding Rs 105 crore, according to sources familiar with the development.
The conflict traces back to October 2020, when an emergency arbitrator in Singapore barred Future Retail Ltd from proceeding with its Rs 24,500 crore deal with Reliance Retail. Amazon had challenged the transaction, arguing that its 2019 agreement with a Future Group entity granted it the first right of refusal over the group’s retail assets.
The company maintained that the proposed sale breached its contractual rights, including a non-compete clause and right of first offer. In December 2021, the Competition Commission of India suspended its earlier approval of Amazon’s 2019 investment, adding another layer to the legal battle. The matter remains under consideration before the Supreme Court of India.
Following the settlement, Future Coupons has withdrawn its appeal against the June 27, 2025 ruling of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), which had found that the Future–Reliance transaction violated the pre-existing agreement with Amazon.
While Amazon had sought Rs 1,436 crore in damages, the tribunal awarded it over Rs 105 crore. This included Rs 77.34 crore towards legal and related expenses and SGD68,550. Additionally, 11 promoters, including Kishore Biyani, were directed to jointly and severally pay Rs 23.70 crore, along with annual compounded interest of 10.3 per cent from 9 March 2022, until full payment. They were also asked to reimburse around SGD923,000 towards arbitration costs.
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar of the Delhi High Court recorded that the disputes between the parties “stand resolved and the settlement has been formally reduced into a Settlement Agreement of 13 March”.
Allowing Future Coupons to withdraw its petitions, the court said, “Accordingly, the present petitions, along with pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of in the above terms”, effectively closing the prolonged legal tussle.
Earlier, the three-member SIAC tribunal had held that Amazon was entitled to damages arising from breaches of the Future Coupons Shareholders’ Agreement, though it did not fully accept the amount claimed. It also ruled that Future Retail’s 2020 board decision to approve the Rs 24,713 crore sale of its retail, wholesale and logistics businesses to Reliance Retail contravened obligations under agreements signed with Amazon.
The tribunal further observed that 835 out of 1,534 Future Retail stores were transferred in a manner that violated Amazon’s contractual rights, stemming from its 2019 acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons for Rs 1,400 crore. Future Coupons held a 10 per cent stake in Future Retail.
