Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail, galvanized steel sheet maker Jindal (India) and textiles manufacturer GBTL have thrown their hat into the ring to acquire debt-ridden Future Enterprises.

In an exchange filing, Future listed the three companies as “prospective resolution applicants” and gave them time until 24 August to submit their resolution plans.

In February, insolvency proceedings had kicked off against the Kishore Biyani-led company following a plea by supplier Foresight Innovations over a Rs 1.58 crore default. The resolution professional in the case has admitted verified claims worth Rs 12,265 crore from lenders and Rs 23 crore from fixed-deposit holders.

The Future Group firm also has significant borrowings in the form of bonds. Centbank Financial Services has filed the highest claim (Rs 3,344 crore), followed by Axis Trustee Services (Rs 1,341 crore) and Vistra ITCL (Rs 210 crore), according to a Business Today report.

Towards a bleak future: Future Enterprises seems to be following a similar path as Future Retail, another group company undergoing insolvency proceedings. Future Lifestyle Fashions and Future Supply Chain Solutions are also in the same boat. In April, Jindal Power and Reliance Retail had expressed interest to buy Future Retail and were among the 48 companies shortlisted to send resolution bids. However, both, along with the Adani group, opted out. Future Retail has a debt of around Rs 30,000 crore.

How did things get to this point? In 2019, Amazon invested Rs 1,431 crore for a 49% stake in Future. However, the latter amassed a massive debt, exacerbated by the pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020.

Later that year, Reliance Industries decided to acquire Future Retail and several other group companies—including Future Enterprises—for Rs 24,713 crore. But the deal ran into trouble after Amazon contested it, citing an exclusivity agreement with Future. This led to a legal battle between Amazon and Reliance.

Reliance, in turn, acquired more than 900 Future Retail stores without paying a dime. Meanwhile, banks categorized Future Retail’s account as a non-performing asset, resulting in Bank of India initiating insolvency proceedings against the company in April last year.

For more context: Banks get short shrift in Future-Reliance deal & Reliance’s Future gamble blows up in its face