Tongaat Hulett faces provisional liquidation after business rescue plans failed.
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The provisional liquidation application brought by the business rescue practitioners of Tongaat Hulett Limited is expected to be heard in the Durban High Court today.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on Thursday filed its notice of intention to oppose the liquidation application. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition had said earlier that it together with other organs of state, will oppose the liquidation and will “continue to support all lawful efforts aimed at finding a viable and durable resolution”.
The matter has much public interest as SA Canegrowers pointed out Tongaat Hulett's importance to the sugar industry as a whole. Its milling operations are relied upon by 18 000 growers, with no other milling options available, specifically in KwaZulu-Natal.
The business rescue practitioners had said two weeks ago that they would be seeking a court order discontinuing the company’s business rescue proceedings and placing Tongaat into provisional liquidation.
It said at the time that this decision follows the Business Rescue Plan no longer being implementable as a result of the lapsing of the sale agreements with Vision.
Billionaire entrepreneur and Vision Group shareholder Robert Gumede has defended the company's acquisition of Tongaat Hulett’s multi-billion rand debt and said it was aimed at saving a 134-year-old institution currently languishing in a corporate “ICU”.
Tongaat entered into business rescue in October 2022 following serious accounting irregularities and governance failures that eroded shareholder value. It was supported by funding from the IDC.
The IDC was also meant to play a crucial role in terms of the Vision deal but the business rescue practitioners said the two parties failed to agree on funding arrangements which led to them filing the liquidation application.
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