Lending to group firm was a mistake, says McLeod Russel's Khaitan

Shareholders said McNally's failure to repay the borrowings direly affected McLeod's financial position

While reassuring shareholders of his commitment to stave off the present financial crisis at McLeod Russel, Aditya Khaitan, chairman, said lending to group entity McNally Bharat Engineering had been a “mistake”.

Shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) repeatedly questioned Khaitan on the rationale for issuing inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) to McNally Bharat, whose repayment has since become uncertain. To which, he admitted: “It was a mistake. The firm that was lent to was in serious trouble and the mistake we made was to see whether that company could turn around...It (McNally) was in the infrastructure space and we believed India would