IndiGo shareholders create ruckus as Gangwal skips EGM he wanted

The extraordinary general meeting of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs India's largest airline IndiGo, witnessed a lot of drama as shareholders were furious at the absence of co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal, who had called the meeting on Wednesday.

Gangwal had called the meeting to get shareholders’ approval to amend the Articles of Association, particularly the right of first refusal for his entities or the other co-promoter Rahul Bhatia's IGE Group, over sale of shares by one of the promoters.

"The resolution does not provide clarity on whether Gangwal wants to sell his stake or not. Also, he called the EGM but was himself absent," Jasmeet Singh, a shareholder present at the meeting, told Mint.

The resolution for the amendment triggered concerns Gangwal was considering selling part of the entire stake held by his group.

With Gangwal absent at the meeting, shareholders were extremely upset and created a ruckus, prompting chairman M. Damodaran to call security guards to control the situation.

"The fight between the promoters has led to a fall in share prices which is affecting our returns, and Bhatia did not even say anything to calm nerves," one of the minority shareholders told Mint, on condition of anonymity.

Gangwal and Bhatia have been in a tussle since over over issues such as shareholders’ rights like selection and appointment of chairman and key management personnel that were allegedly misused by Bhatia, absence of a woman director, and alleged related-party transactions between IndiGo and companies affiliated to Bhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprise Group.

InterGlobe Aviation’s and Gangwal’s replies to emailed queries sent by Mint were awaited. Calls to Gangwal’s mobile phone were also unanswered at the time of publishing.

A spokesperson for Bhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprise Group said the reason for Gangwal’s absence were not known to them.

The results of the shareholders' votes at the extraordinary general meeting are expected in the next two days.

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation were up 0.8% at ₹1,465.80 on the National Stock Exchange.