Published on 11-Feb-2021
Khushboo Razdan
Asia's richest man and Reliance Chief Executive Mukesh Ambani (L); Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man and founder of Amazon (R). /VCG
Two of the world's richest men, Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani, have locked horns over an Indian grocery firm called Future Retailer, part of Indian conglomerate Future Group, which struck separate deals with American e-commerce giant Amazon, founded by Bezos in 1994, and Ambani-led Reliance Industries.
Both Amazon and Reliance are looking to pump up their e-commerce grocery business in India, and that's where the world's richest man, Bezos, is facing unprecedented competition from Asia's wealthiest person, Ambani.
In August 2019, Amazon invested in a promoter entity of Future Retail, called Future Coupons, acquiring a roughly 4.5 percent stake in Future Retail. A year later, Reliance Retail announced it had entered an agreement with Future Group to take over its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing businesses for about $3.4 billion.
Amazon contends that the 2019 contract includes a non-compete clause, which forbids Future Retail and Future Group from conducting business with 30 entities, including Reliance. The company accuses Future Group of violating the terms of the deal, which supposedly gave it the right of first refusal to acquire more shares in Future Retail.