The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=competition+commission+of+India">Competition Commission of India</a> (CCI) has accused <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=google">Google</a> of abusing its dominant market position to rig search outcomes and if proven right, this can lead to long <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=regulatory+battle">regulatory battle</a>. 
 
Queries were raised by the watchdog to which 30 businesses, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flipkart">Flipkart</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=facebook">Facebook</a>, Makemytrip.com, Nokia’s maps division, and other social networks, travel and content sites, responded and complained that Google abused its dominant market position. 
 
Based on the corroborated complaints, the CCI director-general has filed a report that accuses Google of abusing its dominant position to rig search outcomes, both the actual search result as well as sponsored links. This marks the first case globally where an anti-trust body is formally raising such charges against Google. 
 
Google has time till September 10 to file its response to the findings and present itself before the seven-member commission headed by Chairman Ashok Chawla, a week later. 
 
The CCI may also impose a fine up to 10% of Google's income. 
 
Meanwhile, Google said it was reviewing the report from the CCI and exuded confidence that they follow prescribed Indian laws. 
 
As per the CCI’s report, Google is liable on two counts, first being Google's proprietary content and second on sponsored links. 
 
Proprietary content means that for instance, even though a website may have a higher hit rate for a specific section, Google’s content is given priority. Like Google Hotels gets preference over other travel portals that may have higher traffic and therefore mathematically more appropriate as first results of a search. 
 <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> stated that it found search results to have a direct correlation with the amount of money the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ecommerce">e-Commerce</a> portal spends on Google advertising. 
 Meanwhile, the CCI report dismisses Google's submission that its nature of search is similar to that of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> and Twitter, which the report says are social networks, not web searches. 
 
Google's using foreign arbitration clauses in case of disputes is also considered abuse of dominance, according to the report. 
 
Though Google can seek more time to respond to the CCI report, it was fined Rs1 crore last year for delaying information the commission had sought. 
 
Google’s case will be represented by law firms AZB &amp; Partners and Economic Law Practice. 
 
(Image: Josephmallozzi.wordpress.com)

Is Google really using its power to rig results? If yes, it is in deep trouble

<keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> has worked hard at crafting a positive sentiment for itself in India, one of its largest markets. Advertisements for its search products tug at the heartstrings of emotions underpinning India. The company is pitching in to have a social impact and it also helps PR when some of its top executives have native roots. But none of that helped the Internet search major last week when the monopoly watchdog, the <keyword id="97393" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Competition-Commission-of-India">Competition Commission of India</keyword> (CCI), fined Google close to $170,000 for not co-operating with an antitrust investigation. 
 
Searching for evidence 
The charge against Google is a serious one. It is alleged that the company abuses its near-monopoly in search to distort how search rankings appear and the working of the bidding-based advertising model, built on top of its search. 
 
Acting on a complaint made two years ago by a public interest group, as well as a local matrimonial website, the CCI had launched an investigation into how Google was conducting its business in India. In 2012, it concluded in a finding that it had prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. 
 
All you have to do is conduct a search on Google and you will find that it is not the first time the company has ranked high on the radar of antitrust watchdogs. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in a highly opaque decision last year, ended a 19-month probe into similar allegations about Google. 
 
The common bugbear seems to be that when a user types in a search query on Google, rather than the site prioritizing the search results of companies that have paid good money to feature prominently on the results page, Google uses the excuse of its user interface to direct traffic to a growing portfolio of its own sites. 
 
In the US, Google was able to argue successfully that there was nothing sinister about this practice – it was merely trying to make search more effective and it could not practise reverse discrimination on its own websites. Rather grudgingly, and after extracting some minor concessions, the FTC seems to have backed off. 
 
It was in Europe, though, that Google came closest to being indicted – narrowly avoiding a $5 billion fine when it managed to strike a deal with the EU regulators under which other search engine results would also feature prominently along with its own. 
 In the past, the EU had been particularly hard on tech companies, slapping <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> (one of the complainants in the Google case) with a $2.7 billion fine for its own antitrust violations. Chip-maker <keyword id="28115" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Intel">Intel</keyword> was slapped with a $1.3 billion fine in 2009, which resulted in a drawn-out appeals procedure. 
 Time has been Google’s friend, though, and in the three years that the EU took to back the search giant into a corner, the company had made money hand over fist, including the revenues earned off mobile, courtesy the <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword>. 
 
Angst over Android Android may be given away for free by Google but it comes with strings attached. Guess what ‘search’ powers Android phones and guess which phone you need to have if you’d like to access Google’s <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> service seamlessly. 
 With the Internet moving to the mobile across the board, the next antitrust battleground for Google is Android. The CCI will be keenly watching how the EU decides on a separate complaint filed by Microsoft and <keyword id="6354716" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Nokia">Nokia</keyword> (now practically one company), alleging malpractices relating to Android licensing. 
 
The Indian watchdog already has the mobile operating system under scrutiny and in a country where Android phones are the preferred choice of 9 out of 10 Indian smartphone users, the ramifications of any EU judgement could be massive. 
 Interestingly, the Indian media called for a CCI investigation into the recent acquisition of <keyword id="790242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> by <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> as monopolies in the mobile domain are now becoming quite apparent. 
 
The India fix Traditionally, India has not witnessed antitrust actions of the seismic variety like the break-up of <keyword id="28808" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="ATT">AT&amp;T</keyword> in the US. In fact, the CCI is largely seen as a bit of a toothless tiger with a wide-ranging remit that includes trying to fix onion cartels when India’s middle-class begins to get teary over high prices. 
 
Increasingly, though, it seems to be warming up to its role as a competition watchdog and in 2013, imposed fines cumulating to $340 million on a variety of entities including State-owned mining firms, a leading private airline and the body that runs Indian cricket. 
 
Internet companies that perceive they have been hard done by Google are now resorting to their own treaties and agreements to ensure that the search giant does not make a killing by letting its customers get into bidding wars over search advertising that ultimately prove counter-productive for them. 
 
Meanwhile, the search for a worthy competitor to Google yields no results.

Google
Is Not Feeling Lucky In India Anymore

Homegrown <keyword id="2435252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="audio-streaming" source="Orion">audio streaming</keyword> platform <keyword id="11925561" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pocket-fm" source="Orion">Pocket FM</keyword> on Tuesday announced that it has raised $16 million in <keyword id="392814" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="debt-funding" source="Orion">debt funding</keyword> from US-based <keyword id="630197" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="silicon-valley-bank" source="Orion">Silicon Valley Bank</keyword> (SVB) that went bankrupt and is now a division of First Citizens Bank. The new funds will be utilised for expanding the audio series library, augmenting the creator community and accelerating revenue, Pocket FM said in a statement. The platform clocked 12 times revenue growth last year, surpassing $25 million ARR (annualised revenue run-rate) in October 2022. "The debt funding we have secured gives us the resources to continue expanding our content library and build the largest audio series platform globally. We are excited to build on this momentum and bring our listeners even more engaging content," said Rohan Nayak, Co-founder and CEO, Pocket FM. Pocket FM has been witnessing strong adoption of audio series and growth in listening time, catering to an 80 million listeners community globally, with listeners spending an average of over 150 minutes daily. "Its unique approach to audio entertainment and impressive unit economics shows significant revenue potential in a massive addressable market. We are excited to work with Pocket FM and support the company's continued growth and success as its banking partner," said Chris Cameron, senior vice president at SVB. Founded in 2018, Pocket FM raised $93.5 million until Series C. With this new debt round, the total capital infusion has increased to $109.5 million. Pocket FM was built to redefine the audio OTT space by pioneering the audio-series category. Being the only long-form entertainment OTT in the audio landscape, it has emerged as the preferred digital audio destination for a refined and diverse storytelling experience with the audio-series format. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-pays-entire-1338-crore-penalty-to-cci-in-android-case/articleshow/99932555.cms">Google pays entire ₹1,338 crore penalty to CCI in Android case</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/sebi-fines-future-corporate-resources-kishore-biyani-13-others-for-open-offer-lapses/articleshow/99932723.cms">SEBI fines Future Corporate Resources, Kishore Biyani, 13 others for open offer lapses</a>

Pocket FM raises $16 million in debt funding from Silicon Valley Bank

<keyword id="35210" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="Orion">SEBI</keyword> has imposed a penalty totalling Rs 20 lakh on <keyword id="2951205" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Future-Corporate-Resources" source="Orion">Future Corporate Resources</keyword>, <keyword id="44950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kishore-Biyani" source="Orion">Kishore Biyani</keyword> and 13 others for failing to make a public announcement of an <keyword id="6694776" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Open-offer" source="Orion">open offer</keyword> to the shareholders of <keyword id="17303831" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Praxis-Home-Retail" source="Orion">Praxis Home Retail</keyword>. They have been asked to pay the fine within 45 days, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said in its order. SEBI found that Future Corporate Resources Pvt Ltd (FCRL) along with 14 entities failed to make a public announcement of an open offer following the increase in the shareholding of FCRL in Praxis. Praxis' equity shares aggregating to 30 lakh were allotted to one of its promoter entities FCRL, following the exercise of the conversion option of 3,180 compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) by FCRL, out of the 7,500 CCDs initially allotted to it. After exercising the conversion option, the shareholding of FCRL in Praxis rose from 47.43 per cent in the quarter ended December 2019 to 53.13 per cent, an increase of 5.71 per cent in shareholding as of February 11, 2020. "As the increase in shareholding of FCRL in Praxis post-allotment is 5.71 per cent, which is more than five per cent, FCRL along with the other Noticees (PACs) allegedly were required to make a public announcement of the open offer under...SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations," SEBI said in its order passed on Friday. However, SEBI noted that "Noticees (15 entities) did not make a public announcement of the open offer, till date, in the instant matter" and violated the provisions of SAST norms. SAST regulations were triggered in respect of the allotment of shares and the subsequent increase in the shareholding of FCRL. The rule mandates that the acquirer and persons acting in concert with it will be jointly and severally responsible for the fulfilment of the obligation. One of the purposes of obligations in respect of an open offer is to provide an exit option to the shareholders other than the promoters of the target company, SEBI said. Accordingly, SEBI has levied a fine of Rs 10 lakh on FCRL and Rs 10 lakh together on 14 entities -- Kishore Biyani, Akar Estate and Finance, Surplus <keyword id="3777368" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="finvest" botkeyword="" source="ET" sourcekeytype="COMPANY" meta.keywordsubtype="EQ" meta.aliasname="finvest" meta.entityname="Apollo Finvest (India) Ltd." meta.entityid="10882" meta.seoname="apollo-finvest-(india)-ltd">Finvest</keyword>, Retail Trust, Anil Biyani, Ashni Kishore Biyani, Avni Biyani, Gopikishan Biyani, Laxminarayan Biyani, Rakesh Biyani, Sangita Biyani, Sunil Biyani, Vijay Biyani and Vivek Biyani. These 15 entities constitute the promoter and promoter group entities of Praxis before and after the allotment of the shares pursuant to the exercise of conversion of CCDs. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-pays-entire-1338-crore-penalty-to-cci-in-android-case/articleshow/99932555.cms">Google pays entire ₹1,338 crore penalty to CCI in Android case</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/hugh-grant-says-playing-the-bad-guy-is-more-fun-delicious/articleshow/99931571.cms">Hugh Grant says playing the bad guy is 'more fun &amp; delicious'</a>

SEBI fines Future Corporate Resources, Kishore Biyani, 13 others for open offer lapses

<keyword id="135365" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="samsung-electronics" source="Orion">Samsung Electronics</keyword> new Chairman <keyword id="804640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lee-jae-yong" source="Orion">Lee Jae-yong</keyword> called on employees on Thursday to rise up to challenges and to focus more on technology development. "Now is time for us to mount more bold challenges. Our survival depends on future technologies," he said in a message posted on the company's internal forum soon after he was promoted to chairman of the tech giant, the crown jewel of the group. "We can turn this crisis into opportunity... I will stand at the forefront" of the campaign to make <keyword id="10591" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="samsung" source="Orion">Samsung</keyword> a greater company "beloved" by consumers around the world, <keyword id="3176" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lee" source="Orion">Lee</keyword> said. His promotion was endorsed at a board meeting earlier in the day, the company said, considering "an urgent need for stable management and leadership amid the deteriorating global business environment," reports Yonhap news agency. Lee started working at the tech firm in 1991 and was promoted to vice chairman in 2012. His late father <keyword id="208877" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lee-kun-hee" source="Orion">Lee Kun-hee</keyword> served as Samsung Electronics chairman until he died two years ago and the position had since been vacant. The promotion had been widely expected among industry watchers after he was given a presidential pardon in August for his conviction in a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. With the new title, Lee's leadership will be put to the test at a time when the tech giant has been trying to navigate mounting challenges from macroeconomic woes and slowing businesses. Samsung Electronics earlier in the day reported a sharp decline in profits for the third quarter, as the semiconductor business has slowed significantly following the pandemic-fueled boom that boosted the chipmakers' top and bottom lines for the past few years. A difficult road lies head for the tech giant in the coming months and well into the next year, amid growing economic uncertainties and fears of a recession. Adding to the challenges, Lee's legal battle is yet to be over. He is currently standing trial over the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates and alleged accounting fraud at the pharmaceutical unit Samsung Biologics. The merger and fraud are widely seen as key steps to strengthen his grip on the group. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/indias-it-giants-are-worried-about-moonlighting-employees-sharing-their-corporate-secrets/articleshow/95077652.cms">India’s IT giants are worried about moonlighting employees sharing their corporate secrets</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-1338-crore-fine-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-as-cci-orders-google-to-take-several-measures-to-curb-its-anti-competitive-behavior/articleshow/95012606.cms">The ₹1,338 crore fine is just the tip of the iceberg as CCI orders Google to take several measures to curb its anti-competitive behavior</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-ipad-10th-gen-ipad-pro-and-apple-tv-4k-launched-in-india-price-specs-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/94958900.cms">Apple iPad 10th gen, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K launched in India – price, specs, and everything you need to know</a>

Time to mount more bold challenges, says Samsung's new chairman Lee Jae-yong

<ul><li>The Kishore Biyani-led group moved the <keyword id="6355014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="delhi-high-court">Delhi High Court</keyword> seeking relief from the stay order which <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> had received from a Singapore arbitrator. </li><li>During the proceedings at the court, Harish Salve representing <keyword id="375475" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Future-Retail">Future Retail</keyword> said that Amazon has many falsehoods and one of them is claiming that it didn’t know about the Reliance-Future Retail deal until September 2020.</li><li>The Delhi High Court adjourned the hearing until November 11.</li><li>The court issued summons to Amazon, Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) on the FRL suit and asked them to file their written statements within 30 days.</li></ul>Reliance and Future Retail’s legal tussle against Amazon continues as the Kishore Biyani-led group moved the Delhi High Court seeking relief from the stay order, which Amazon had received from a Singapore arbitrator. After a day-long hearing, which included comments from legal representatives from Future Retail, Future Group and Amazon, the court adjourned the hearing until November 11. The Delhi High Court also sought Amazon's response on Future Retail's plea, which alleged that the Jeff Bezos-led e-commerce giant was interfering in its deal with Reliance Retail on the basis of an interim order by a Singapore arbitrator. Justice Mukta Gupta issued summons to Amazon, Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) on the FRL suit and asked them to file their written statements within 30 days. ‘Amazon knew about RIL-Future Retail deal’, claim Future’s lawyers During the proceedings at the court, Harish Salve representing Future Retail said that Amazon has many falsehoods and one of them is claiming that it didn’t know about the Reliance-Future Retail deal until September 2020. Salve claimed during the proceedings that Future Retail, which was badly hit during the pandemic, had begun negotiations with Reliance during June 2020 and Amazon knew about it. It is important to note that Amazon in its letter to SEBI had claimed that Future had <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/amazon-claims-future-hid-facts-from-investors-11604942502089.html">hidden facts </a>from the e-commerce giant. Salve argued that Amazon cannot jump into the Future Retail-Reliance transaction and if there is a dispute they will have to refer to dispute resolution. Legal reporting platform Bar &amp; Bench quoted the top lawyer, who also represents Reliance, “FRL is a listed entity. Before Amazon invested in FCPL, it wanted to ensure that Biyani had control over FRL. If banks sold Biyani's shares, an outsider would have come in. Amazon cannot say that they will become parties to this. They cannot come in only because there is a concept of group companies.” <div type="twitter" handle="barandbench" handlename="Bar &amp; Bench" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1304761912068984833/5-qPfQOb_normal.jpg" favoritecount="391" retweetcount="46" status="Delhi High Court begins hearing Future Retail's suit against @amazon in relation to the interim order passed by an… https://t.co/Y94DUogA5E" createdat="1604986308000" id="1326034806124146689"></div> Salve further argued that Amazon’s relief is against Future Coupons and so it has to be their arbitration, but it can’t go against Future Retail. “They shouldn't interfere.. let them come to NCLT as a stakeholder if they want to,” he said during the proceedings as reported by Bar &amp; Bench. The lawyer also argued that FDI isn’t allowed in multi-brand retail in India and that Amazon can’t go ahead with FDI violations. Salve ended his arguments in court by saying, “Please don’t let this American giant kill Future.” Appearing for other Future Group parties, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that Amazon had made opportunistic opposite submissions to CCI and SEBI. “The court is dealing with a concept which is alien to Indian law. Emergency Arbitration doesn't exist in India,” he said. Singhvi further argued that seat is Delhi for the case, as “under Singapore Rules, emergency Arbitration is pre arbitration and temporary. It is auto terminated once the arbitral panel takes over”. Meanwhile, representing Amazon senior advocate Subramanium said, “Amazon is an investor..law gives me protective rights. Emergency Arbitrator prima facie concludes that there was no inhibition on investment in FCPL.. there was no violation of FDI. If they had succeeded before the emergency Arbitrator, would they still say it was not binding.” The court went on to adjourn the hearing for the day. The legal battle so far One of the most talked about deals in the Indian retail industry has now turned into a global fight between the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos and India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/future-retail-reliance-deal-bse-to-consult-sebi-after-amazons-request-heres-all-that-has-happened-so-far/articleshow/78949099.cms">Here’s a timeline of events in the Future Retail, Reliance vs Amazon fight so far</a> On October 25, global e-commerce giant Amazon got a stay order on the Future Retail and Reliance deal from a Singapore arbitrator, and had written to BSE and SEBI to uphold the decision. Amazon had sent a legal notice to Future Coupons over Future Group’s ₹25,000 crore deal with Reliance. Amazon had <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/article/amazon-sends-legal-notice-to-future-group-for-alleged-breach-rofl-rights-in-reliance-deal/663768">said that </a>it was denied the Rights of First Refusal for the deal with Future Group. The Singapore court had ruled in favour of Amazon and passed an interim order that put the RIL-Future deal on hold. Future Retail had on November 7 informed the bourses that it was seeking relief and contended that Amazon was ‘misusing’ the interim order passed by an emergency arbitrator, appointed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) on October 25, 2020. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-will-be-probed-by-indias-competition-commission-for-allegedly-abusing-dominance-to-push-gpay/articleshow/79141895.cms">Google will be probed by India’s Competition Commission for allegedly ‘abusing dominance’ to push its payments app</a>

‘Please don’t let this American giant kill Future,’ Kishore Biyani’s lawyers say Amazon knew about RIL-Future Retail deal from June

<ul><li><keyword id="80487" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword>'s will potentially be bidding to acquire more than 51% stake in <keyword id="6354742" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> by investing up to $8-10 billion. </li><li>Other major investors include <keyword id="163404" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> (23% stake), Tiger Global (20% stake) and <keyword id="6356837" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="naspers">Naspers</keyword> (16.6% stake).</li><li>SoftBank is willing to pump in an additional $3-4 billion, if Flipkart opts to pursue <keyword id="18635" type="LOCATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>'s offer instead of Walmart.</li></ul> Despite Amazon’s bid to buy a 60% stake in India’s Flipkart, reports say the deal will go in Walmart’s favour. Talks of Walmart wanting to acquire a massive stake of Flipkart have been on since February. And with that news, a number of companies, including Google and Amazon, seem to want a piece of Flipkart’s pie. The Bentonville-based retail giant, Walmart, has been itching to expand its online presence into the remaining Asian markets. If this deal materialises -- its biggest e-commerce bet anywhere globally -- will also trigger a re-rating of its stock market valuation, which is currently second only to Amazon. A source told <keyword id="6356641" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-of-India">Times of India</keyword> (TOI) that “the shareholding agreement with Walmart is still to be signed. But it is unlikely that Amazon will come in now. Walmart and Flipkart are agreeing on the deal terms, for now.” Sources with knowledge of the proceedings told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/walmart-nears-flipkart-deal-amazon-push-fails/articleshow/64010460.cms?from=mdr" data-type="tilCustomLink">TOI</a> that SoftBank has been favouring the merger with Amazon instead of Walmart. For this, it is also willing to pump in an additional $3-4 billion, in case Flipkart opts to pursue Amazon's offer instead of Walmart. While most other investors are keen on Walmart’s cashout deal, SoftBank, wants to maintain its 20% stake in the combined <keyword id="6412936" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="flipkart-amazon">Flipkart-Amazon</keyword> entity. The additional amount can in-turn be deployed to buy shares from smaller investors. Flipkart has been valued at around $20 billion and its major investors include SoftBank (23% stake), Tiger Global (20% stake), Naspers (16.6% stake) and <keyword id="144381" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword> (one of the early investors in Flipkart that hold less than 10% stake). However, this idea does not fly with the other major investors who believe -- and perhaps rightly so -- that the potential merger with Amazon would not go past the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI, founded in 2003, is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 which aims at preventing activities that have a significantly adverse effect on competition in India. Plus, the merger with Amazon would potentially irk the different sections of the trading community. However, SoftBank maintains, Flipkart and Amazon combined will only manage a mere 1.5% stake in the broader Indian retailing industry and therefore is unlikely to run into regulatory hurdles. The Japanese company’s founder and chairman Masayoshi Son saw the potential merger between the two e-commerce behemoths as a way to get his company a bigger play in India’s promising e-commerce market. Just last year, it invested an additional $2.5 billion in Flipkart. According to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/softbank-likely-to-part-sell-flipkart-stake-to-walmart/articleshow/63291759.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Times of India article</a> from 14 March, Walmart's potential bid to acquire more than 51% stake by investing up to $8-10 billion in Flipkart may just nudge SoftBank to part-sell its shares. However, Masayoshi Son told TOI a few days ago, “We are involved in discussions with key shareholders and the management. Either way, we are happy. It is nice to have good offers and we are always open to discussing different options and are always flexible for a good return and success of the company.” All this aside, another source said that the Flipkart board already agreed to Walmart’s offer a few days ago, thereby possibly thwarting Amazon’s intention to sweep in and win the game.

You Searched For "Google CCI case" and got 7 results

Is Google really using its power to rig results? If yes, it is in deep trouble

BI India Bureau

Google Is Not Feeling Lucky In India Anymore

Preetam Kaushik

Pocket FM raises $16 million in debt funding from Silicon Valley Bank

IANS

SEBI fines Future Corporate Resources, Kishore Biyani, 13 others for open offer lapses

PTI

Time to mount more bold challenges, says Samsung's new chairman Lee Jae-yong

IANS

‘Please don’t let this American giant kill Future,’ Kishore Biyani’s lawyers say Amazon knew about RIL-Future Retail deal from June

Sanchita Dash

Walmart may edge out Amazon in the race to buy holding stake in India’s Flipkart

Kavita Majumdar