By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters – India’s biggest retailer Reliance has agreed to take over the management of 200 Future Retail locations. Future Retail had failed to pay its lease payments to Reliance. Two people who have direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Reliance was the only one.

Reliance failed to complete a $3.4billion deal in 2020 to buy Future’s retail assets. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ) successfully blocked the transaction by legalizing violations of certain contracts. Future claims that there was no wrongdoing.

Future, Reliance, and Amazon didn’t immediately reply to our requests for comment.

Future’s worsening financial condition is evident by Reliance taking over stores. Its sale of retail assets continues to be blocked as a result of legal disputes. Future challenged Indian Supreme Court its lenders for relief from insolvency proceedings arising out of missing bank payments. Future cited Amazon’s dispute as the reason.

Future, which operates more than 1,700 stores and the Big Bazaar stories, has not been able to pay lease payments at some of its outlets. According to sources, Reliance sublet Future the leases for some of its stores and transferred them to itself.

Future’s inability to pay the bills led to Reliance deciding to rebrand around 200 locations that were otherwise closed.

Sources claim that over 200 stores will move to Reliance stores. The source did not want to be identified because details are not available.

Reliance sent a letter to these employees, which was seen by Reuters. It offered them new positions on similar terms. The letter reads: “We welcome your participation in our organization.”

Amazon claims Future violated the Terms of a 2018 Deal the Companies signed, when it invested $200 Million in Future. Indian courts and a Singapore arbitrator have supported Amazon’s position.