IndiGo co-founder Gangwal sells $1.4 billion shares in airline

Rakesh Gangwal, the co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd that operates IndiGo, India’s largest airline, and his family trust offloaded a 5.7% stake in the carrier for $1.4 billion (Rs11,928 crore) on Tuesday.

Gangwal and the Chinkerpoo Family Trust sold about 22 million shares at Rs5,230.50 apiece, Bloomberg reported, citing terms of the deal.

Shares of Interglobe Aviation, which have gained 16% since the beginning of the year, slipped over 3% from the previous day’s closing before recouping some of the losses to end about 2% down from the previous session at Rs5,313.15 apiece on BSE.

The number of shares put on sale was raised from 13.2 million. The final price was at a 3.5% discount to Monday’s closing of Rs5,420.

The deal marks another step in Gangwal’s efforts to gradually exit the airline’s holding firm. Since March last year, Gangwal has sold shares worth over $2 billion through block trades in two instances.

Before Tuesday’s sale, Gangwal owned a 5.3% stake in InterGlobe Aviation, while the family trust held 8.23%.

Last week, IndiGo reported strong earnings, with consolidated net profit soaring 62% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2025 to ₹3,067.5 crore on strong domestic demand.

Seventy-one-year-old Gangwal co-founded IndiGo in 2006 with managing director Rahul Bhatia.

IndiGo, which operates a fleet of 434 aircraft, had a 64% market share in the country as on 31 March this year.

There is a 150-day lockup on the seller and the trust, according to the terms. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are the placement agents.