Rakesh Gangwal may put 4% stake in IndiGo on block, can fetch Rs 2.9k cr

IndiGo co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal is set to pare his stake in IndiGo by a further 4 per cent via block deals on Thursday, sources said. 

This would be the Gangwal family's second such share sale in six months. Last September, Rakesh Gangwal and his wife Rekha sold 2.74 per cent in InterGlobe Aviation, mopping up Rs 2,005 crore.

About 15.6 million shares (4.05 per cent) stake in aviation firm InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) are set to be offloaded via block deals on Thursday. 

According to the sources, the stake put on the block belongs to the Gangwal family, which currently holds nearly 34 per cent in the airline. The base price for the share sale has been set at Rs 1,875, about 5.6 per cent discount to last close. At the base price, the sellers will be able to mop up over Rs 2,900 crore ($350 million). 

Shares of IndiGo finished at Rs 1,986 apiece, down 2.6 per cent over its previous close. Goldman Sachs is the investment bank handling the share sale.

Rakesh Gangwal did not respond to an e-mail query seeking comment. He resigned as a board member of the airline last February. At that time, he had announced he would reduce his stake in the airline over five years.

A former president of US Airways, Gangwal teamed up with Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises to launch IndiGo in 2005. The two promoters fell apart in 2019 on allegations of governance lapses, resulting in an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and an arbitration.