RIL Refutes the Mega-Deal with Amazon

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has denied a report, which was stating that the company was planning to sell a $20-billion stake in its retail business to US rival Amazon, in a deal that could upend the country's hugely lucrative e-commerce sector. The report published by Bloomberg stated that RIL, controlled by Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, had offered Amazon a 40 percent stake in its retail subsidiary RRVL, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the matter. The deal, which would have been the largest for the country and for the Silicon Valley behemoth according to Bloomberg data, would have shaken up the retail sector, transforming the relationship between two firms that have spent months locked in frenzied competition. But a source at the oil-to-telecoms giant disputed the report, which sent Reliance shares up by more than seven percent in Mumbai, calling it incorrect.

"It makes no sense for both the parties to establish partnerships or collaborations," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The deal, which would have been the largest for the country and for the Silicon Valley behemoth according to Bloomberg data, would have shaken up the retail sector, transforming the relationship between two firms that have spent months locked in frenzied competition

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. Reliance has been fighting Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart for a share of India's online market, establishing its digital platform JioMart in May. After spending years battling local mom-and-pop shops for customers, the retail giants are now trying to work hand-in-hand with the smaller stores that dominate India's towns and hinterlands to bring them online.

Reliance last month announced its acquisition of
the retail, wholesale and logistics businesses of India's Future Group, which owns some of the country's best-known supermarket brands, adding around 1,800 stores to its portfolio. The deal with Future Group will give RIL control of around one-third of retail stores of the country’s otherwise fragmented retail sector. Apart from that, RIL is also looking to tap into the fast-growing market for online shopping in India. With the launch of its e-commerce venture JioMart this year, RIL aims to take on global giants such as Walmart and Amazon.