Gopinath may divest stake in Air Deccan to part-fund new ventures
08 Aug 2008
New Delhi: Capt GR Gopinath, founder of Deccan Aviation and now its vice chairman, may sell 2 per cent stake in Air Deccan, in a bid to raise resources to fund his newly launched ventures. The proceeds from the sale of the stake will go towards raising Rs200 crore from the market and will be used to part fund his proposed air cargo venture.
He currently holds 9.11 per cent stake in Air Deccan of which 7.11 per cent is locked-in. At current market price of Rs90 a share, Gopinath has a total holding of around Rs111.18 crore.
Air Deccan promoters, including Gopinath, sold 26% stake in the company last year to UB Group's Vijay Mallya for Rs550 crore.
Earlier reports had said that Gopinath has mandated Mumbai-based Edelweiss Capital to find investors for the proposed venture.
According to reports, Gopinath has said that he would mortgage the locked and unlocked shares as collateral to raise the required fund. He also said that up to 2% stake in Air Deccan could be divested, as 7.11% of the stake is bound by a lock-in till June next year.
Deccan Cargo, the new venture floated by Gopinath will invest around $25 million in the first phase to set up its base in Nagpur. The firm signed an MoU with Maharashtra government last month to set up a logistics hub in the city.
