IL&FS value to be preserved, says non-executive chairman Uday Kotak

The government-appointed board at debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) hit the ground running and said it would take steps to preserve the value of the group.

The situation at IL&FS is more complicated than what was anticipated so far, said the newly constituted seven-member board of directors on Thursday after a five-hour meeting.

While the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said in its petition that IL&FS had 169 group companies under its structure, the new board said the group comprised 348 entities which is “significantly larger than what we had originally been aware of”.

The board, during its first meeting after being constituted on directions from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), elected Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Uday Kotak non-executive chairman.

Former Tech Mahindra vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar was appointed vice-chairman and MD of IL&FS, subject to the approval of the NCLT.