Sun TV Chief Kalanithi Maran took over as Chairman of Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) SpiceJet yesterday and inducted four of his nominees in the company's board of directors. 

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company stated that Kalanithi Maran has been inducted into the board as the Promoter Director and has been appointed as the Chairman of the board and company. 

Following the completion of his acquisition of a majority stake in the company, Maran has inducted four of his nominees — S Sridharan, J Ravindran, Nicholas Martin Paul and M K Harinarayanan — as directors on the company board.
Furthermore, Kavery Kalanithi, the wife of the Chennai-based industrialist, has been appointed as a non-independent director on the board. 

To make space for the new board members, all four existing directors on the airline's board — B S Kansagra, Kishore Gupta, Mukkaram Jan and Vijay Kumar have resigned from company. 

Maran had clinched a deal in June this year to acquire 37.7 per cent stake in the airline for about Rs 750 crore from American investor Wilbur Ross, his investment companies and the Kansagara family-promoted Royal Holding Services Ltd. He, however, currently holds 38.66 per cent stake in the airline. 

Kalanithi Maran jointly with KAL Airways Pvt Ltd has acquired 38.66 per cent stake in the company. Their acquisition included the entire equity stake of the erstwhile promoter — Royal Holdings Services Ltd (RHSL) — and Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB) converted equity stake held by Wilbur Ross entities and shares offered by general public in the open offer made pursuant to SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulations, 1997. 

Before the latest management shuffle, Maran had already appointed Neil Mills as CEO of the airline, while several top officials, including the then-CEO Sanjay Aggarwal and Founder Director Ajay Singh, put in their papers. 

The SpiceJet filing further said that S Natrajhen has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the airline. 

Shares of the company closed at Rs 85.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday, down 1.10 per cent from the previous close.