Qatar Airways revives its interest in IndiGo stake

Qatar Airways said it’s keen to take a stake in India’s discount carrier IndiGo once shares start trading following an initial public offering (IPO), after plans for a direct investment were frustrated by local regulations. “I couldn’t take a stake in IndiGo because the Indian authorities have restrictions on airlines taking part in IPOs of an airline,” Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer of Qatar Airways said in an interview to Bloomberg television on the sidelines of the Dubai Air Show. “The process to do it would have taken a long time and they were in a hurry. If we can go up to the 49 percent that’s allowed, we’d like to go as much as that,” Al Baker added. The second-biggest Gulf carrier could seek a maximum 49 per cent of IndiGo — valued at $2 billion based on the IPO price — to boost its exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets. The sale of a 10 per cent IndiGo stake in October’s IPO raised about Rs 30 billion ($456 million), valuing the airline at $4.2 billion and making it the third-largest low-cost carrier in Asia, with a value five times that of Jet Airways and nine times that of SpiceJet, the other two listed Indian airlines. IndiGo made its market debut on November 9 (Monday), opening 12 percent higher at Rs 855.80. IndiGo shares were issued at Rs 765 but climbed to an intraday high of Rs 898, representing 17.4 per cent gains on first day of trade. At its day high, IndiGo was valued at over Rs 32,000 crore (nearly $5 billion), making it the biggest domestic carrier by market cap. IndiGo is the country's biggest airline in terms of market share. InterGlobe Aviation, the company that runs IndiGo, earlier raised Rs 3,000 crore in its initial public offer. The biggest IPO in three years was over-subscribed six times, mainly on account of strong demand from qualified institutional investors.