Gangwal to sell around 4% of IndiGo for ₹3,370 cr

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal and his family will sell around 4% stake in InterGlobe Aviation Ltd for up to $450 million ( ₹3,370 crore) on Wednesday, according to deal terms seen by Mint. The block sale is part of Gangwal’s plans to cut his stake in InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, India’s largest airline. In terms of value, this will be the largest block deal yet by Gangwal, who began selling his shares in the past 12 months.

In September 2022, Gangwal and family sold 2.8% in the airline for ₹2,000 crore, and in February this year, they sold a 4% stake for ₹2,900 crore. Shares will be sold at a floor price of ₹2,400 each, a 5.8% discount to Monday’s close of ₹2,549. Secondary share sales such as these are typically priced at a discount to the market price.

There is a lock-in period of 150 days for the acquirer. Rakesh and Shobha Gangwal are listed as sellers. Investment banks Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are assisting with the block sale.

The decision to sell the stake comes after Gangwal, who holds more than 29.72% stake in the company, stepped down from the InterGlobe board in February 2022. Rahul Bhatia, the other co-founder of IndiGo, and his family own more than 38.05% stake, according to exchange filings. “They (Gangwal and family) want to capitalize on the stock price going up in the recent past," said an investment banker with knowledge of the deal.

Indigo shares are up 27% from ₹2,007 in January to ₹2,548.35 now. InterGlobe Aviation had a market capitalization of ₹98,313 crore at the close of trading on Monday. Queries sent to Gangwal and an InterGlobe Aviation spokesperson remained unanswered.