The Ambani non compete agreement

With Reliance Communications calling off its merger with MTN due to legal and other issues it's now quite clear that there indeed exists a valid and binding, non compete agreement with an embedded right of first refusal that can be exercised by either party.
The ostrich like attitude of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group denying the applicability of the arbitration notice and conciliatory meeting exercised by Reliance Industries, on the grounds of no deal having been consummated, did not help in seeing the transaction through. Unlike the ADAG group, Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries has no dearh of money and hence it's need to sell a business is relatively less. Take for instance the MDA group's petroleum retail business which was shuttered to limit losses, rather than being sold. A sale would have given an opportunity to the younger Ambani to exercise his right of first refusal.
Thanks to the continuing validity of the non-compete agreement MDA cannot enter the telephony, power and financial services business which were handed over to the younger Ambani. That said the demerger document sent to shareholders of RIL, very clearly states that the MDA group is not barred from entering these businesses for captive purposes. So one finds MDA planning mega power plants and airports for their Special Economic Zones, and offering consumer financing and broking to customers of Reliance Retail.
RCom's much hyped DTH venture too may be subject to competition from Mukesh Ambani who is free to enter the DTH and Digital Terrestial TV businesses as per the terms of the non compete agreement dated January 12, 2006.
The frequent bickering between the two brothers over the alleged transgressions of the agreement are proof that they have yet to smoke the peace pipe. Unfortunately unless two parties decided to truly bury their differences, family agreements seldom work. The Ambanis are not the only case in point.
Take the Bajaj family which, despite the interevention of S Gurumurthy of the Sangh Parivar has failed to go ahead with the family settlement. The bad blood between the members of the family continues to vitiate any legal documentation that may have been agreed upon.
Similarly the dispute between the Sheth family at Great Eastern Shipping resulted in GE Shipping engaged in businesses that were supposed to be carried on by the demerged Great Offshore. Or take the Ruias of Essar group who hold a third of Vodafone Essar and also run a competing venture BPL Mobile in Mumbai.
At the end of the day unless two parties decide to truly bury their differences and work together or go their separate ways there's very little a piece of stamp paper can do to mend their ways everyday.