Adani and Reliance Retail are no longer competing for Future Retail, according to a report
Two of India’s largest conglomerates Reliance Retail and Adani Group have opted out from the final bidding process for Future Retail, reported ET NOW, citing sources, on Wednesday.
According to the report, a total of six bids have been received for the final round of bidding for Future Retail from lesser-known companies.
Realty firm Space Mantra has bid the highest for the company, meanwhile, the five other applicants have bided for parts of Future Retail.
Pinnacle Air, Palgun Tech LLC and Lehar Solutions are bidders who have submitted applications to acquire the company in parts. Good Will Furniture and Sarvabhista E waste management are among the other bidders.
The report also stated that 49 Expression of Interest (EoI) had come for Future Retail. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail and Gautam Adani-led Adani Group were among the bidders who had submitted EoI earlier.
Financial creditors have claimed around Rs 20,000 crore from Future Retail, according to ET NOW sources.
Earlier in April, the Mumbai-based NCLT bench granted FRL an extension of 90 days till July 15, 2023, for concluding the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
On March 23, 2023, creditors of FRL invited new EoIs whereby prospective buyers can bid for the debt-ridden firm “as a going concern or individual cluster or a combination of clusters of its assets”, as it failed to attract a resolution plan in more than four months.
Earlier, it had received EoIs and finalised 11 prospective bidders, including Reliance and April Moon Retail, but could not get a resolution plan despite two extensions in the deadline for submissions.
The Committee of Creditors had provided two options in the EoI, for which the last date for submission was April 7, 2023.
CIRP was initiated against FRL by its lender Bank of India following loan defaults.
Under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, EoI was invited from prospective bidders on October 4, 2022.
FRL operated multiple retail formats in both the hypermarket supermarket and home segments under brands such as Big Bazaar, Easyday, and Foodhall. At its peak, FRL was operating more than 1,500 outlets in nearly 430 cities.
It was part of the 19 Future group companies operating in the retail, wholesale, logistic and warehousing segments, which were supposed to be transferred to Reliance Retail as part of a Rs 24,713 crore-deal announced in August 2020.
However, lenders had rejected the takeover of the 19 Future group companies, including FRL, by Reliance amid a legal challenge by Amazon.
Last year in August, stock market regulator Sebi ordered a forensic audit of the accounts of FRL for the financial years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
