The Bhatia family has divested part of its stake in InterGlobe Aviation, the IndiGo parent, through an open market transaction for ₹3,367 crore.

The sale on Tuesday is a first for the Bhatias since the listing of IndiGo in November 2015.

Bulk deal data from the BSE showed InterGlobe Enterprises, a holding company of the Bhatia family, sold 77.19 lakh shares at an average price of ₹4,362.04 per share.

Around 31.2 lakh shares were picked up by Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Pvt Ltd. The identity of the other buyers was not known.

InterGlobe Enterprises is classified as a promoter entity in IndiGo and it held 37.75 per cent of the airline during the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The total holding of the Bhatia family stood at 37.91 per cent.

The shares sold on Tuesday comprised around 2 per cent of the equity of InterGlobe Aviation.

While the reasons behind the share sale by InterGlobe Enterprises were not disclosed, the buzz is that the Bhatia family could be utilising it to expand its hospitality business.

Reports had earlier said that the family was looking to grow their new hotel business in Europe.

In December, InterGlobe Enterprises had announced the launch of Miiro, a new lifestyle hotel brand, with plans to open in Paris and Barcelona in 2024 and
London and Vienna in 2025.

Rakesh Gangwal, the other co-founder of IndiGo, has been paring his stake since his resignation from the company’s board in February 2022. In March, he divested 6 per cent stake to raise ₹6,786 crore. Prior to the stake sale his family held little over 25 per cent in IndiGo.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers recently said the airline was examining various financing options for the wide-body planes that are expected to join its fleet in 2027.