Shobha Gangwal, the spouse of InterGlobe Aviation’s co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, has recently divested a nearly 2.9% stake in the company for over ₹2,800 crore through open market transactions. InterGlobe Aviation is the parent company of India’s largest airline, IndiGo.
The sale was executed in three bulk deal transactions, involving a total of 7,682,361 shares. Out of these, 3,841,121 shares were sold at a price of ₹2,426.21 each, and two sets of 3,841,120 shares were offloaded at prices of ₹2,440.92 and ₹2,427.09, respectively. The cumulative value of the shares sold amounts to ₹2,801.79 crore.
Notably, the shares were sold at a discounted price compared to the closing price on the day of the transactions. On that day, the closing price of InterGlobe Aviation shares was ₹2,457.60 on the BSE.
At the close of the June quarter, Rakesh Gangwal and Shobha Gangwal had ownership stakes of 13.23% and 2.99% in the company, respectively. The Chinkerpoo Family Trust, represented by Shobha Gangwal, and JP Morgan Trust Company of Delaware collectively owned 13.50% of the shareholding.
This marks the third instance within a year in which Rakesh Gangwal and associated entities have divested their shares in InterGlobe Aviation. In February of the same year, Shobha Gangwal sold a 4% stake for ₹2,944 crore. In the prior September, Rakesh Gangwal and Shobha Gangwal had sold a 2.74% stake for ₹2,005 crore.
The divergence between co-founders Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia came to public attention when Gangwal addressed the market regulator, Sebi, in July 2019, raising concerns about alleged corporate governance lapses within the company. Bhatia’s group rejected these accusations.
Rakesh Gangwal’s decision to resign from InterGlobe Aviation’s board of directors in February 2022 and gradually decrease his equity stake over five years marked a significant development in the ongoing feud between the two co-founders.
As of the end of June this year, the promoter and promoter group collectively held a 67.77% stake in the company, as confirmed by BSE data. This recent stake sale further underscores the evolving dynamics within InterGlobe Aviation and its promoter group.
