Future - Amazon: CCI Suspends Deal Approval; Fines Amazon Rs 200 Crore
The CCI has suspended the 2019 approval granted to the deal between Future Group and Amazon.
The Competition Commission of India on Friday said that Amazon had failed to identify and notify strategic interest over Future Retail Ltd. back in 2019. And so, the regulator has kept in abeyance its approval order that made way for the transaction between Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings and Future Coupons Pvt.
The regulator has given Amazon 60 days to file a fresh notice.
Given that the combination is between players who are known in the online marketplace and offline retailing and they have contemplated strategic alignment between their businesses, the Commission considers it necessary to examine the combination afresh based on a notice to be given in Form II with true, correct and complete information...CCI Order
The regulator also imposed a Rs 200-crore penalty on Amazon for failing to notify the shareholder agreement involving Future Retail. An additional fine of Rs 2 crore has been imposed for omission of material information when the U.S. ecommerce giant sought approval for the transaction with Future Coupons in 2019.
There was a deliberate design on the part of Amazon to suppress the actual scope and purpose of the combination, the commission said.