Truce on cards: IndiGo co-promoters signal to bury differences

Signalling a truce in long-standing deadlock, the two co-promoters of IndiGo - Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia - have finally agreed to set aside their differences. The talks between two sides were reportedly brokered by Indigo chairman M Damodaran.

According to ET, IndiGo will have four independent directors compared to the current two. Rakesh Gangwal will have the power to nominate one board member, while Rahul Bhatia can nominate the others. The two camps reported having approved the changes.

Sources said, "Board will also have a strength of 10 members now. Out of that, four will be independent directors, five members will be from Interglobe Enterprise and Gangwal will also be a member. The board will also have an independent woman member." People privy to the development also said that these things should have happened long. "This is something that should have always been there and has only happened after complaints. However, more needs to be done to improve corporate governance," the sources added. 

However, the two camps still did not shy away from accusing each other of wrongdoings. The Bhatia camp argued that Gangwal was gas-masking the real issue of diluting Bhatia's controlling rights behind the RPT. The group claimed, "The package proposed by Gangwal where he asks for a change in the control clauses is proof of that."

Gangwal group have argued that the financial regulators have received the complaints from their end inquiry will clear the air. It is to be noted that ever since the rift between the two co-promoters spread like a wild wire, the company got undue attention from the government when Rakesh Gangwal requested intervention from the regulator as well as government on the issue of related party transactions. Soon after the news broke out, the investors reacted positively, IndiGo shares hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,579 piece, recovering nearly nine percent from its intra-day low of Rs 1,450.20