IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal to sell $801 million worth of shares

Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo and one of its promoters, is set to sell shares worth about $801 million (₹6,700 crore) in the airline’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. According to a term sheet accessed by Mint, the shares are being offered at a floor price of ₹5,808 per share, which is nearly 4% lower than the company’s closing price of ₹6,044.75.

The block deal is being managed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan.

The share sale will reduce Gangwal’s stake in IndiGo to around 4.71%, while his co-founder and current Managing Director, Rahul Bhatia, will continue to hold about 35.73%. At the end of December 2021, Gangwal and Bhatia together owned 74.78% of the company, with Gangwal holding 36.6% and Bhatia 37.8%. Since then, Gangwal has been gradually reducing his shareholding.

This move is part of Gangwal’s long-term plan to completely exit IndiGo over five years. In 2022, he resigned from the company’s board following a public dispute with Bhatia over corporate governance issues. At the time, he announced his intention to sell down his 37% stake in phases, while requesting that no sensitive company information be shared with him during the process.

Over the past three years, Gangwal and his family have raised more than ₹45,300 crore through multiple stake sales. These include a 2.74% stake sold for ₹2,005 crore in September 2022, a 4% stake sold by his wife Shobha for ₹2,944 crore in February 2023, and a 2.9% stake sold for over ₹2,800 crore in August 2023. In August 2024, his family trust sold another 5.2% stake for ₹9,549 crore. More recently, he sold 5.83% stakes in April and August 2024, and another 5.7% in May 2025.

Despite Gangwal’s gradual exit, IndiGo remains India’s largest airline with a market share of about 64%. The airline has also continued to report profits, although its earnings for the June 2025 quarter fell by 20% year-on-year to ₹2,176 crore due to external challenges. These included the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the India-Pakistan border clash, and the Air India flight crash in June, all of which affected air travel during the busy summer holiday season.

Even so, the airline’s revenues rose by 6% to ₹21,543 crore, supported by higher flying capacity. IndiGo’s Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), a key measure of airline capacity, grew by 16% to 42.3 billion during the quarter.