Rakesh Gangwal raises $501 million in downsized IndiGo sale

Billionaire Rakesh Gangwal’s latest attempt to pare his stake in IndiGo faced a surprise on Thursday, as the size of his share sale was reduced — a rare move for the Indian carrier, whose stock ranks among the world’s most valuable airlines.

Gangwal and the Chinkerpoo Family Trust offloaded 7.56 million shares or 1.96% stake in the low-cost carrier, raising about 43.9 billion rupees ($501 million), according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News on Thursday. This is less than the earlier plan to sell 12.1 million shares worth over $800 million, the terms showed on Tuesday.

The deal was carried out on Thursday — after Indian markets were shut on Wednesday for a public holiday — amid concerns that US’s punitive tariffs could hurt economic growth. Local units of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were placement agents, according to the terms.

IndiGo shares tumbled 5.3% to 5,727 rupees on Thursday, their biggest single-day retreat since Jan. 13. The stock is set to join the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index at the end of September.

Gangwal, co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., which runs IndiGo, has been reducing his stake since 2022. Local television channel CNBC Awaaz reported that the deal size was cut due to weak demand from domestic institutions.

Spokespeople at Interglobe Aviation and the brokerages didn’t immediately respond to emailed queries, while Gangwal and the Chinkerpoo Family Trust were unavailable for comment outside business hours.

IndiGo dominates the Indian skies with a market share of over 60%. Valued at $25 billion, the carrier’s shares are the fourth-biggest on Bloomberg’s global index of airlines.