Amazon was fully aware of talks with RIL for sale of retail assets: Kishore Biyani

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani has said Amazon was fully aware of his group’s talks with Reliance Industries for the sale of retail assets that followed the US giant offering no concrete help to tide over the cash crisis.

Opening up after being locked in an intense legal battle with Amazon over the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance, Biyani in an interview said the US giant’s 2019 investment in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) — Future Retail’s parent — was for coupon and gifting business only and the same could continue post-retail assets going to Reliance. He hoped to complete the deal with Reliance within two months of Sebi approval.

While the arbitration would commence later in January over the plea filed by Amazon contesting the deal with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Biyani said both the deal and arbitration process would continue in “parallel” as the deal with billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led group is not related with the e-commerce major’s stake in one of the group firms, Future Coupons.