Gangwal family to sell off 2.8% stake in InterGlobe Aviation through block deal

An IndiGo aircraft.

Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo, and his family are looking to sell a 2.8 percent stake in InterGlobe Aviation, the holding company which runs IndiGo airlines, through a block deal.

Morgan Stanley, one of the investment banks looking after the sale of the Gangwal family's stake in InterGlobe, launched a block deal for the sale.

As part of the block deal, as many as 10.8 million shares belonging to the Gangwal family have been listed for sale for Rs 19.96 billion, the investment bank said in a notification to the stock exchanges.

The shares are listed at Rs 1,850 apiece, a discount of 6.5 percent, when compared to InterGloble Aviation's closing price of Rs 1,977.70 on September 7 on National Stock Exchange.

Rakesh Gangwal had asked Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan to manage the planned sale of his shares in IndiGo.

Gangwal, his wife Shobha and their family trust together hold a 36.6 percent stake in InterGlobe Aviation, the parent entity of IndiGo, whose market capitalisation is around Rs 76,800 crore. Their combined stake could be worth as much as Rs 28,097 crore.

Gangwal stepped down from InterGlobe Aviation's board in mid-February and said he would sell his stake over five years.

Late last year, IndiGo's shareholders approved a change in the company's Articles of Association, enabling Gangwal to sell his holding without co-founder Rahul Bhatia's approval.

Gangwal and Bhatia had been locked in a bitter legal feud for the past several years over allegations of misuse of power and related-party transactions. Gangwal, once a hands-on promoter, had refused to participate in key purchase decisions in 2018 and subsequently took a backseat on all operational aspects, till he stepped down in February. Bhatia took over as managing director the same month.