Future Retail said in a late-evening update on Saturday that it has missed its December 31, 2021 deadline to repay its lenders Rs 3,494.56 crore under a one-time restructuring (OTR) plan.

The stressed retailer was unable to complete the planned sale of its specified business as laid out under the OTR plan to service its obligations to banks and other lenders on the due date as a result of the ongoing litigations with Amazon.com.

“As discussed with the banks/lenders, the company would be co-operating for completing the monetisation of the specified business within next 30 days as per directions of the banks to resolve the current situation,” Future Retail said in a communication to the stock exchanges.

The company further said that it has a review period of 30 days from the due date in terms of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular dated August 6, 2020 and its OTR agreement to make the missed repayment.

As a result of the default, Care Ratings has downgraded Future Retail’s non-convertible debentures and long- and short-term bank facilities to ‘D’ from ‘B’.
The legal battle between Amazon and the Future Group has derailed the Indian retailer’s plans to sell its assets to Reliance Retail. Amazon’s objection to the sale rests on its acquisition of a 49% stake in Future Coupons in 2019.

On December 17, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) suspended its approval accorded more than two years back to Amazon for acquiring the stake in Future Coupons, following a review of allegations of concealment of information while seeking regulatory nod for the deal. The anti-trust regulator also imposed a Rs 202-crore penalty, which Amazon is required to pay within sixty days.