IndiGo promoters reach temporary truce, agree on policy changes

The promoters of InterGlobe Aviation, the company that runs budget airline IndiGo, reportedly agreed to changes in related party transaction (RPT) policy and closed an issue related to increasing the size of company's board to 10 directors during the company's 16th AGM on Tuesday.

Company's co-promoters Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia have been engaged in a bitter tussle over the issues including corporate governance, questionable related party transactions and composition of the company's board.

Gangwal voted for the proposed changes to the articles of association (AoA) of the company after the board closed an open issue on its expansion, the Livemint reported. The issue was related to policy changes in event of independent directors leaving the company, the report added. Notably, Gangwal had earlier said that he will oppose the special resolution at the AGM to increase the board size to 10 directors, but agreed to it three days ago.

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The report stated that the board has agreed to make policy changes only when composition is intact at 10 members.

Meanwhile, IndiGo's CEO Ronojoy Dutta told shareholders during the AGM that related-party transactions of Rahul Bhatia-led InterGlobe Enterprises and the airline amount to around Rs 156 crore, which is less than 1 per cent of the total turnover of the company at Rs 30,000 crore.

Meanwhile, Rahul Bhatia on Tuesday said he hopes that Rakesh Gangwal's actions would speak louder than his words. Bhatia's comments at the company's AGM were made in light of co-founder Gangwal starting the website, governanceindia.com, earlier this month to issue his statements.

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"I hope his (Gangwal's) actions will start speaking louder than his website over time... IndiGo is reaching a point where it can stand on its own," Bhatia said during the AGM.

The feud between the two came into public domain after Gangwal had written to market regulator SEBI in July and sought its intervention to address the alleged corporate governance lapses at the company, charges that have been rejected by the Bhatia group.