India's top court ruled Friday in favor of Amazon, allowing it to block the sale of Future Group (Reliance Industries) to stop. This was a significant victory for Amazon in the crucial overseas market and a blow for Mukesh Ambani, the nation's richest man.According to the Indian Supreme Court, the Singapore Arbitration Court's order last year that a blocked the deal between two Indian giants was enforceable and legally binding in India.Future Retail, the nation's second-largest retail chain, is facing a setback today due to a court order.Reliance Retail, India's largest retail chain, announced that it had reached a deal with Future Group to buy Future Group's wholesale and retail business as well as its logistics, warehousing, and logistics businesses, for $3.4 Billion, a year ago.Soon things got complicated. Amazon, which had two years earlier invested in Future Groups units, accused the Indian company of violating its contract. It approached the Singapore arbitrator for help to stop the deal between the Indian companies.Amazon argued that Future Retail's deal with Amazon had granted Future Retail the first right of refusal to purchase more Future Retail stakes.In return, the Indian firms argued that Singapore's court order was invalid in the South Asian market. The deal was also approved by India's Competition Commission of India last January.Reliance Industries stated at the time that the deal with Future Retail was fully enforceable by Indian law, and that it planned to close the deal immediately.Future Retail shares, which operate 1,700 retail shops in 400 Indian cities, fell 6% on Friday, while Reliance Industries, the conglomerate that manages Reliance Retail, was down 1.3%.Amazon, Walmarts Flipkart, and Ambanis Reliance Industries are engaged in a fierce battle for the Indian retail market.Many industry analysts see Reliance Retail's launch of its own ecommerce business as critical for Indian ecommerce firms future.Amazon invested $6.5 billion in India's local businesses eight years ago when it began its journey.Reliance Retail was founded in 2006 and serves over 3.5 million customers per week through nearly 12,000 stores located in more than 6,500 towns and cities across the country.India's richest man Mukesh Ambani runs the retail chain. It raised $7 billion last year. Jio Platforms, Ambanis second venture, was also funded by more than a dozen prominent investors including Google and Facebook.
