Gopinath going out of KF? Stake down to .32%

Bangalore: Capt G R Gopinath appears set to alight from Kingfisher Airlines. The aviation entrepreneur, who was the single largest individual shareholder in Kingfisher Airlines after its merger with Deccan early last year, has been on a stock selling spree on the bourses.
As per the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) website, Gopinath has just 0.32% stake left in Kingfisher Airlines. This after he sold 49,66,354 lakh Kingfisher Airlines shares between September 3 and September 9, and on September 25, in the process mopping up around Rs 25 crore.
With this, the question also arises whether Gopinath would continue as the vice chairman of the airline. Gopinath was not willing to comment on the matter. An SMS to Kingfisher Airlines CMD Vijay Mallya on the subject elicited no response till late on Monday.
If Gopinath has to relinquish his position, then it would mark the end of an era for a person often called the father of low-cost aviation in India. Since the beginning of last year, Gopinath has been offloading his stake and by November 2008 had brought his stake in Kingfisher down to 3.71%, from around 10% that he held post the merger of Kingfisher Airlines and Deccan.
20/10/09 Anshul Dhamija/Times of India

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Categories: Kingfisher Oct 2009, Kingfisher Red Oct 2009