CCI clears Amazon Asia's 76 pc stake buy in Frontizo

New Delhi: The competition watchdog CCI has greenlit Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings' plan to purchase a 76 pc ownership in Frontizo from Zodiac Wealth Advisors LLP.

Frontizo's subsidiary, Appario Retail, operates in both retail (B2C) and wholesale (B2B) sectors in India. It provides items for sale to customers through the Amazon India Marketplace. Appario is a joint venture between Amazon and Zodiac Wealth Management, which is owned by the Patni group. Zodiac owned 76 percent of the shares, while Amazon Asia Pacific Holdings had a 23 percent stake, and Zaffre LLC held a 1 percent share in Appario Retail.CCI has approved the proposal for Sanlam Emerging Markets (Mauritius) Ltd (SEMM) to acquire a 16.12 pc stake in both Shriram LI Holdings and Shriram GI Holdings in different announcements.

SLIH is the parent company of SLIC, a company that is promoted and held by SLIH. SLIH holds a majority stake of 74.56 per cent in SLIC. SGIH is the parent company of SGIC, a company in the insurance sector. SGIH owns 66.64 percent of SGIC.

SEMM, established in Mauritius, is fully owned by Sanlam Ltd, South Africa. It belongs to the Sanlam Group. Deals exceeding a specific limit need to be approved by the regulatory body, which monitors unethical business behaviors and encourages competition in the market.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated in a release that Amazon Asia-Pacific plans to acquire 76 pc  of the equity shares in Frontizo from Zodiac Wealth Advisors LLP (Zodiac). At the same time, the CCI approved Clicktech Retail Pvt Ltd (CRPL) acquiring Appario’s entire business and Haverl purchasing a 1 pc stake in New Trends Commerce Pvt Ltd (NTCPL). Clicktech Retail operates as a merchant on the Amazon India platform.

Haverl is involved in creating and maintaining investments, while CEPL is the parent company of NTCPL. CRPL is the subsidiary of the former. CRPL sells products to customers on the Amazon India marketplace, focusing on both B2C and B2B sales.