The billionaire co-founder of IndiGo, Rakesh Gangwal, sold nearly $1.3 billion worth of shares in the airline's operator InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. a day after they closed at a record high.
Shares in India's leading airline climbed 92 per cent over the past year and closed at a record high of 4,859.85 rupees ($57.94) Wednesday. Gangwal and the Chinkerpoo Family Trust sold 22.5 million shares at 4,714.90 rupees each in a block equity sale, according to a filing, representing 30 per cent of his IndiGo stake.
The number of shares offered was raised from 14.7 million, and priced at a premium to the floor price. IndiGo's shares fell as much as 3 per cent Thursday "- the most since Aug. 5.
Gangwal, 71, sold a similar number of shares in March for $820 million.
Gangwal has a fortune of $6.9 billion after adding $1.8 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with one-third of that move coming in the past 10 days alone.
Thursday's deal is the third-largest block equity sale in the country this year after ITC Ltd. and Indus Towers Ltd. As Indian equity benchmarks reach new highs promoters are choosing to take some profits from legacy investments.
A graduate of the India Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Gangwal announced his resignation from the board of InterGlobe Aviation in February 2022, saying he would gradually reduce his stake in the company over the next five years.
"While new investors should benefit from the potential future growth in the company's share price, a gradual reduction of my stake should also allow me to benefit from some of the upside. Like any plan, future events may impact my current thinking," he said.
IndiGo is the largest airline in India with a domestic market share of 62 per cent in July, while closest rival Air India Ltd. had 14 per cent, according to government data. Its $22 billion market value puts it among the world's biggest airlines, including Delta Air Lines Inc and Ryanair Holdings Plc.
Earlier this month, it introduced business class offerings to tap India's burgeoning wealth, looking to bolster its services against Air India and Vistara, which are undergoing a merger.
"IndiGo remains in the driver's seat, with new avenues of growth," analysts Prateek Kumar and Raghav Malik at Jefferies wrote in a note last week.
Gangwal co-founded IndiGo Airlines in 2006 with Rahul Bhatia.
Before the latest sale, Gangwal owned 19 per cent of the airline directly and through a trust, according to filings.
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were the placement agents.
