A co-founder of India’s biggest airline IndiGo raised about $820 million from selling part of his holding, in the largest block equity sale in the country since 2019.
Rakesh Gangwal sold 22.5 million shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., the owner of Indigo, at 3,015.10 rupees per share, according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. The number of shares on sale was increased from the 12.75 million initially expected and the final price was above the floor indication of 2,925 rupees each.
Gangwal is cashing in with the stock trading near a record high, as a rapidly growing retail investor base and strong corporate earnings drive demand for Indian equities. It’s the fourth time within two years that the co-founder has tapped investors through a block sale of IndiGo shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are placement agents.
IndiGo’s stock was up 2 per cent as of 11:25 a.m. in Mumbai, extending its gain this year to 6.5 per cent. IndiGo shares surged 48 per cent last year.
Earlier in February, Gangwal had divested a 4 per cent stake in the company, and subsequently, in September, he sold a 2.8 per cent stake, according to media reports.
According to the airline’s Q4 2023 earnings report, the company reported a 111 per cent year-on-year increase to INR2,998.12 crore from INR1,422.6 crore reported in the same quarter last year. The revenue from operations for the quarter stood at INR19,452.15 crore, marking a 30 per cent y-o-y increase from the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.
