Rahul Bhatia sells 2% stake in IndiGo, to utilise proceeds for hospitality biz

IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia has sold a 2% stake in InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent company of IndiGo, in a block trade.

As part of the transaction, 7.72 million shares of InterGlobe Aviation, representing nearly 2% of IndiGo's total share capital, were sold through a block trade on behalf of Bhatia's InterGlobe Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The deal is estimated at over ₹3,360 crore.

According to InterGlobe Enterprises statement, the proceeds will be used to expand its hospitality and other incubating businesses, as well as for general corporate purposes.

The company confirmed that Bhatia will continue as a promoter and managing director of IndiGo, working with CEO Pieter Elbers to guide the airline's strategic direction.

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InterGlobe Enterprises will continue to remain the largest shareholder of IndiGo. As of March, the promoter group led by Bhatia held a 37.91% stake in the airline. 

Rakesh Gangwal had announced in February 2022 his plans to gradually reduce his stake in IndiGo and as of March, the stake held by the promoter group backed by Gangwal has reduced to 19.38%.

IndiGo is India's largest airline with around 60.6% share in the domestic aviation market, according to the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCI).

“The strong response received from both existing and new investors demonstrates the competitive strength and long-term prospects of IndiGo. IndiGo is a standout success, and I am immensely proud of our company’s journey so far and remain very excited to continue to oversee IndiGo’s next phase of growth," Bhatia said in a statement.

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"I believe there is a long runway for growth as India continues to remain the fastest growing aviation market globally and we have the right strategy and management team in place to capture this opportunity," he added.

At the end of day's trade, the InterGlobe Aviation stock was down 4.3% to close at ₹4,368.2 apiece.