Reliance to pay up to Rs 27,000 cr for Future Group retail chains: Report

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd will pay between Rs 24,000 crore and Rs 27,000 crore  ($3.2-$3.6 billion) to buy the Indian retail chains owned by Future Group, Mint newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with details of the deal.

Asia's richest man, Ambani has been buoyed by investments close to $20 billion from backers including Google and Facebook in his oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, and is seeking to strengthen his hand in India's huge retail sector.

Reliance's existing retail operation already runs close to 12,000 stores, including a cash-and-carry wholesale business, in over 6,700 Indian towns and cities.

Owned by India's "father of modern retailing", Kishore Biyani, Future Group is home to supermarket chain Big Bazaar, upmarket food stores Foodhall, and bargain clothing chain Brand Factory.

A series of media reports have said the two were nearing agreement on the deal.

Ratings agency ICRA estimates total debt at Future Group's listed companies had risen to Rs 12,770 crore by September last year and the company has since faced widespread closures under India's coronavirus lockdowns.

Mint cited its sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying the sale value included Future Group's liabilities.

Five listed entities, including Future Retail Ltd, will be merged into Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) before the sale to one of the retail subsidiaries of Reliance, the paper added.

In May, Reliance launched JioMart, an online grocery service in a move aimed at rivaling Amazon.com's local unit and Walmart Inc's Flipkart in the huge Indian market. Ambani plans to list Reliance's digital and retail units over the next five years.

In its response to the Mint report, Future Retail said its board had not taken any decision that required disclosures to the stock exchanges. A Reliance Industries spokesperson said the company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis.