Future Group, Bharti Retail get CCI nod for Rs 750-crore deal

Competition Commission has cleared the proposed Rs 750-crore multi-tier merger deal between Future Group and Bharti Retail.

The transaction, a major consolidation in the Indian supermarket business, would create a Rs 15,000-crore behemoth. The deal was announced in May this year.

Under the all-stock deal, Future Retail would de-merge its retail business, which would then be merged into Bharti Retail, while the latter's retail infrastructure business would also undergo a similar process to be merged with Future Retail.

In a tweet today, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved "the merger of retail store and retail infrastructure businesses of Future Retail Ltd and Bharti Retail Ltd". CCI keeps a tab on anti-competitive practices across sectors in the market place and M&As beyond a certain threshold require the fair trade regulator's approval.

In May, Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani had said, "We are merging our retail businesses to create two separate companies ... The combined retail entity will have a total turnover of Rs 15,000 crore".

Bharti Retail would get about 15% stake in both the merged entities. Bharti would get Rs 500 crore worth stocks, representing 9-10% equity in both the companies and Rs 250 crore in the form of optionally convertible debentures.

Future Group promoters would hold 46-47% stake each in the two new entities and the rest would be with public shareholders.