Rakesh Gangwal's family and their trust have announced the sale of a 2.8% stake in Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of Indigo, for which the consideration is reported to be around $250 million.
Rakesh Gangwal had teamed up with Rahul Bhatia to launch Indigo in 2005. However, relations between the duo aren't as friendly as they used to be.
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Tensions began in 2019 when Gangwal alleged governance lapses and questionable related party transactions at the airlines which were strongly refused by Bhatia. This resulted in an inquiry into the airlines by SEBI and an arbitration. The fight between the two carried on for a while after the incident.
The fight supposedly ended in February 2022, when Gangwal announced his resignation from the Board of the company, effective immediately. Moreover, he also announced that he would be diluting the entirety of his stake, almost 37%, over a five-year time period.
This 2.8% stake sale appears to be the first tranche of the promoter's stake sale. The for 10 million shares, the price of which has been fixed at Rs 1,850 per share, at a discount of around 6.5%. Earlier this year Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan were appointed to manage the stake sale.
Rahul Bhatia currently owns almost 39% of Indigo, which is heralded as India's largest airline network.
News of the sale spooked the investors as shares of Interglobe Aviation tanked yesterday. The stock opened yesterday at Rs 1,926 per share, down 2.6% from the previous day’s close. It broke through the Rs 1,900 mark, which it hadn't since early August 2022, to touch yesterday’s low of Rs 1,885 per share.
Currently, the stock trades at Rs 1939.90 per share.
Article by Aman Agarwal.
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