As long as Mukesh Ambani is there to rescue, the market doesn't care about Future Retail's financial stress

• The shares of Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail rallied nearly 9% during early trade on Monday.
• Future Retail has reportedly shut down “most” of its BigBazaar stores since Friday last week for Reliance to take over.
• Reliance Industries had agreed to buy Future Group’s retail, wholesale and warehousing assets for ₹24,713 crore in August 2020.

The shares of Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail rallied nearly 9% during early trade on Monday morning even though the company has formally announced that it will be looking to scale down its operations.

The company’s shares were trading at ₹49.9 at 10:44 a.m., on February 28.

Future Retail has come on record to note that they have made a loss of ₹4,445 crore in the last four quarters.

“Termination notices have been received for a significant number of stores due to huge outstanding debts, and we would no longer have access to such store premises. The company is scaling down its operations, which will help us in reducing losses in the coming months. The company is proposing to expand its online and home delivery business, to increase its reach to the customers,” the statement read.

Media reports also suggested that Future Retail has shut down “most” of its BigBazaar stores since Friday last week. With this being said, the reports noted that Reliance Industries will open most of the 200 Future Retail stores as Reliance stores in the coming week.

Ravi Singhal, vice chairperson of GCL Securities, told Business Insider that the fact that Reliance is getting closer to take over Future Retail’s business is coming up as a positive sign. However, he also pointed out that “there is a huge possibility that the Reliance and Future Group deal can come to an end after all legal processes [are] complete between Amazon, Reliance and Future.”

“The most probable reason behind the rise of Future Retail stock is after the Reliance Industries rescue by taking over the operations of around 200 future retail stores and replacing them with its brand stores along with offering jobs to its employees. The stock may touch the level of ₹55-60 in near term on this momentum,” Ravi Singh, vice president and head of research at Share India said.

Reliance Industries had agreed to buy Future Group’s retail, wholesale and warehousing assets for ₹24,713 crore in August 2020. However, Amazon — which held about 3% stake in Future Retail through its 49% shareholding in Future Coupon — objected to the deal.

The e-commerce giant had mentioned that as per their deal, Future Group was barred from selling any of their assets to several companies, including Reliance. The US-based e-commerce giant also contended that it was left out of the loop while the deal was being cracked.

The matter is currently being heard by Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), Delhi high court as well as the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court of India, in August 2021, had also upheld the emergency award given to Amazon by a Singapore arbitrator.

In a turn of events, India’s antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) revoked its clearance to Amazon’s 2019 deal with Future Coupons and imposed a ₹200 crore fine on the US-based ecommerce giant for concealing the facts.

Amazon does hold the right to dispute this verdict and reapply for the clearance. However, it is important to note that Amazon would have no share holdings in Future Coupon or Future Retail if CCI decides to not give green light to the deal.

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