ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

FRESHER INTRA-BATCH ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

COMPETITION, 2021

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION FOR TREE HILL MART

Organized by:

Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, National Law University, Jodhpur

adrintra.nluj@gmail.com

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© Alternative Dispute
Dispute Resolution
Resolution Committee
Committee
When Tree Hill Mart (THM) and Ravenkart signed the term sheet in March 2020, the world was
living in a pre-pandemic era. The announcement of deal to purchase a stake in Ravenkart led to
an increase in the share price of THM and this was to the satisfaction of the shareholders, especially
because the deal meant that the company would finally make headway in the Asian market.

However, THM has been facing financial hardships in the recent past, putting the viability of the
deal in jeopardy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, THM largely operated through its in-person
retail outlets. Therefore, when the pandemic moved all shopping online, THM was not well-equipt
to handle the situtation. The company took almost 7 months to to hire tech staff, relaunch their
website and set up distribution channels, which lead to huge losses and a significant damage to
TSM’s brand image. The pandemic induced losses were so big that THM can no longer
independently finance its investment in Ravenkart. The company is exploring other options,
including taking a loan from a Swiss Bank. This requires the mortgage of some assets— a matter
that THM hopes to discuss with Ravenkart.

Hailey Davis has been receiving a lot of heat from the investors and the Board of Directors of
THM to fix this mismanagement. The protests staged by the local traders and employees of
Ravenkart only made matters worse. Hailey feels that the only way to rebuild the reputation of
THM and gain the trust of THM’s investors is to complete the acquisition of the 49% stake in
Ravenkart. She understands that pushing for a majority nomination on the Board of Directors may
compromise her goal of completing her deal. Therefore, the priority for Hailey is to clarify TSM’s
position, i.e. to enter the Asian market and use the expertise of Ravenkart to make profits on a
global scale.