Future Retail may tie up with a foreign investor

Indian businessman Kishore Biyani said his flagship company Future Retail could close a deal with a foreign investor in the next two months on the back of a large database created from nearly 500 million customers visiting his stores annually. “Ultimately, it's all about how formidable we all are as players get bigger and you need an alliance. We can't sell more than 10 per cent and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) is the only route available. It should take two-three months for any deal to fructify,” Biyani was quoted in the Indian media as saying. Future Group is reportedly in talks with Amazon. India doesn't allow overseas investment in multi-brand retail but Amazon can invest in a retail company through its investment arm, the route through which it has picked up a 5 per cent stake in Shoppers Stop, an analyst said. The arm is registered as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that can acquire up to 10 per cent in an Indian entity as a single firm. An Indian company, however, can dilute up to 49 per cent stake to multiple FPIs.