SEBI said to probe drop in IndiGo shares before Aditya Ghosh’s exit

Mumbai :The markets regulator is examining the cause for the worst drop in seven months in InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.’s shares before the operator of the nation’s largest airline announced the resignation of its president, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) is investigating a 6.1% drop in the company’s shares on April 27 as well as the reasons behind the delay in the disclosure of Aditya Ghosh’s exit by the company, the people said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Ghosh resigned as a director on April 26, a day before the company made the announcement.
A spokesman for the market regulator didn’t respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment, while an external spokesman for IndiGo said the company “has complied with all stock exchange listing requirements relating to the announcement.”
The watchdog is reviewing stock-price data to determine if market-sensitive information was disseminated properly or if insider-trading rules were breached, the people said. SEBI will also seek details of connected persons who were aware of Ghosh’s move, they said.
Shares of the carrier extended losses and dropped as much as 3.7% on Wednesday in Mumbai, touching their lowest intraday level in a month.
Ghosh was instrumental in shaping IndiGo, as the budget carrier is called, and has been its public face over the years as the media-shy billionaire owners Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal stayed away from the limelight. Ghosh is leaving at a time when the airline is changing some of its most successful policies such as moving to a mixed fleet instead of operating a single aircraft class, buying planes outright instead of leasing them, and planning a new low-cost, long-haul service.
While Bhatia will be interim chief executive officer of the airline, the company said Saturday it will consider naming Gregory Taylor as the new president and CEO. Taylor, who was the executive vice president of revenue management and network planning at IndiGo in 2016-2017, has been made senior adviser, according to the airline’s statement.