Future Retail’s iconic brands Big Bazaar, Foodhall up for auction with ₹155 cr reserve price

The liquidation process of debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd (FRL) has reached a critical juncture with the liquidator putting its most valuable intangible assets— the iconic retail brands Big Bazaar, Fashion @ Big Bazaar, and Foodhall — on the block. Liquidator Sanjay Gupta has issued an e-auction notice inviting bids for the portfolio of trademarks. The auction is set to be held on September 11, 2025, from 12 PM to 2 PM.

The reserve price for the brand portfolio has been fixed at ₹155.85 crore. Interested bidders must submit an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of ₹15.585 crore, which is 10% of the reserve price, by September 8, 2025.

The sale will be conducted on an ‘as is where is, whatever there is, and without recourse’ basis. This means the successful bidder will acquire the trademarks without any warranties or indemnities from the liquidator and will assume all responsibilities and liabilities associated with the brands post-auction.

This auction represents one of the final steps in winding up the company after its corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) failed to find a suitor for the entire business. The sale of these well-known consumer brands is expected to attract significant interest from other retail giants, FMCG companies, and investment firms looking to acquire established market names.

Prospective bidders must ensure they meet the eligibility criteria under Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which bars certain categories of persons from submitting a resolution plan or bid. The complete bid document is available on the portal https://ibbi.baanknet.com/.

The successful bidder will be required to pay the entire balance sale consideration within 30 days of receiving the Letter of Intent from the liquidator.

Future Retail Ltd (FRL), the operator of popular retail chains like Big Bazaar, was admitted into Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in July 2022 by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This followed a petition filed by its lender, Bank of India, over a default of ₹3,495 crore. The total claims admitted by creditors exceeded ₹19,000 crore.

The CIRP was highly complex and marred by legal battles, most notably with e-commerce giant Amazon, which had invested in a Future group entity and contested the company’s attempted sale of assets to Reliance Retail in 2020. Despite multiple extensions, the resolution process failed to yield a viable plan for the company as a going concern.

Consequently, in April 2024, the NCLT ordered the liquidation of FRL. The liquidator has since been tasked with selling the company’s assets, including its store leases, inventory, and now, its valuable intellectual property like the Big Bazaar brand, to repay its creditors to the extent possible. The current auction of its trademarks marks a significant phase in this liquidation process.

Also See: Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail, once a leading Indian retailer, is being liquidated