Future Group stocks bounce back; rally as much as 5.5% at close of trade

Shares of Future Group of companies bounced back and settled with as much as 5.5 per cent gains on Thursday, a day after the Delhi High Court stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the Amazon-Future arbitration which is going on before a three-member arbitral tribunal over the latter's Rs 24,500-crore deal with Reliance.

It also stayed a single judge's January 4 order dismissing the Future Group's two pleas seeking a direction to the arbitration tribunal to decide on its application for terminating the arbitration proceedings before moving further.

The tribunal is adjudicating Amazon's objections to Future Retail's deal with Reliance.

The stock of Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd zoomed 5.45 per cent, Future Enterprises Ltd went up by 5.16 per cent, Future Consumer Ltd gained 5.07 per cent, Future Retail Ltd jumped 4.64 per cent and Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd rallied 3.18 per cent on BSE.

In early trade, these stocks had jumped as much as 14 per cent.

Shares of Future Group of companies had declined as much as 4 per cent on Wednesday.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said there is a prima facie case in favour of appellants Future Retail Ltd and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd and if a stay is not granted, it will cause an irreparable loss to them.

"Looking into the order passed by the Competition Commission of India on December 17, 2021, by which the approval (for deal with Future Group) granted on November 28, 2019, was kept in abeyance and showed there was a suppression of facts by the respondents (Amazon), there is a prima facie case in favour of appellants.

"If a stay is not granted, it will cause irreparable loss to these appellants," the bench said.

The court said much has been argued by both sides like a final hearing on the appeals and all these grounds will be dealt with on February 1, including the issue of maintainability.