Big win for Amazon in battle with Indian conglomerate

US e-commerce giant Amazon won a major legal victory in India on Friday as the country’s top court blocked a $3.4-billion deal struck by domestic rival Reliance.

Amazon, Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance, owned by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, are locked in a titanic battle to dominate online retail in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Reliance struck a deal last year to buy assets belonging to Future Retail, India’s second-largest supermarket chain, owned by Future Group.

The acquisition of Future Group, which owns some of India’s best-known supermarket brands, such as Big Bazaar, would have strengthened Reliance’s presence in the hugely competitive e-commerce sector.

Amazon, which owned a stake in one of Future Group’s firms that reportedly included an option to buy into the flagship company, claimed that the Reliance deal amounted to a breach of contract.