In Brief: Amazon takes Future Group to arbitration court over RIL deal

Amazon has approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, alleging that the Future Group has breached a contract through which the ecommerce giant had taken an indirect stake in the latter’s retail business, as per multiple media reports. In August 2020, Reliance Industries was set to acquire Kishore Biyani-led Future Group’s retail and wholesale, and the logistics and warehousing businesses. The terms of the deal does not have its approval and hence should not go through, Amazon was quoted as saying. In August 2019, Amazon was also set to acquire a 49% stake in Future Coupons, a promoter entity of Future Retail. Future cannot sell any shares to Reliance or any other competitor and that Amazon had the right of first refusal, Amazon reportedly said.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas launches second batch of startup incubator

Mumbai-based law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas on Friday said it has launched the second edition of its legal-tech startups incubation programme Prarambh. Prarambh’s second cohort will go through a 10-week virtual incubation to develop solutions that align with the practical requirements of law firms, corporate legal departments, judiciary and independent practitioners, a statement said. The first cohort, which received 51 applications, was concluded in October with the announcement of three winners. 

Zoom introduces INR pricing

San Jose, California-based video conferencing service provider Zoom on Friday said that it has introduced a rupee-based pricing for the Indian market. For the initial phase of the roll out, users will be limited from seeing or buying ‘Zoom Phone’ in the purchase flow made via web browsers, a statement said. Zoom Phone is yet to be made available in India. India is a major market for the NASDAQ-listed firm. In April, at a time when the Covid-19 lockdowns were in full force across the globe and when video conferencing solutions were in demand, India accounted for 18.2% of Zoom’s 131 million downloads, as per Sensor Tower data.

Flipkart to offers pre-booking option before sale

Flipkart on Friday said that it has launched a ‘pre-book store’ for customers to reserve products up for sale in the ecommerce marketplace’s annual Big Billion Days sale, which is scheduled to begin later this month. The pre-book store will be live from October 11 to 14, a statement said, adding that customers will be able to make the reservations at a price of Rs 1.