After exchanges okay Future-Reliance deal, Amazon asks court to block sale

Amazon.com Inc has requested an Indian court to block partner Future Group’s $3.4 billion deal to sell its retail assets to Reliance Industries , in its latest attempt to derail the transaction, a court filing seen by Reuters showed.

Amazon has asked the High Court in New Delhi to enforce the decision of a Singapore arbitrator, which both sides had agreed to use in case of disputes, the filing showed. In October, the arbitrator issued an interim order saying the deal should be put on hold.

Amazon argues Future breached some pre-existing clauses by entering into a deal with Reliance, but the Indian group has maintained the arbitrator’s order is not binding on it and needs to be ratified by an Indian court.

Future has “deliberately” disobeyed the arbitrator’s order, Amazon argued in its court filing, which is likely to be heard by the court in New Delhi later this week.

The U.S. group’s latest court move comes after Indian stock exchanges last week gave the go ahead to the Future deal, after communicating with India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).