India watchdog seeks more details from Amazon on deal
Reportedly India's antitrust body has sought more information from Amazon.com Inc about its planned acquisition of a stake in India's Future Retail , sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, which could potentially delay the deal. amazon in august agreed to acquire a 49% stake in a unit of India's Future Group which owns 7.3% of Future Retail, giving the US-based company a 3.58% stake in the retailer which operates more than 1,500 stores in the country.
The deal would help amazon tap into the booming retail market in india, as it separately boosts its e-commerce operations, offering everything from electronics to groceries on its Indian website. Future Retail runs 290 budget department and grocery stores branded "Big Bazaar".
In a notice to amazon last month, the Competition Commission of india (CCI) said "in certain overlapping segments and areas of operation of the parties, the combined market share exceeds the threshold specified in the combination regulations", one of the sources told Reuters.