Tongaat Hulett Troubles

Tongaat Hulett: Creditors are in control

JOHANNESBURG - After years characterised by wrongdoing and mismanagement Tongaat Hulett (Tongaat) is on the mend.

After deciding to dispose Tongaat’s starch and glucose operation and focus on the turnaround of the sugar operations, the company’s new executives are doing a sterling job by sweating the company’s assets and loss-making business units have returned to profitability.

Creditors are, however, in control.

Tongaat owes South African banks R10.1 billion and Mozambique lenders R1.3bn. The South African debt is secured by Tongaat’s South African assets and the Mozambique assets in that country.


I attempted to deconsolidate the Zimbabwean operations from Tongaat’s other operations at the end of Tongaat’s recent financial year (March 31, 2020).

My analysis indicates that Tongaat’s share of the Zimbabwean net asset value (NAV) amounted to R21 per Tongaat share, while Tongaat’s NAV of the other operations amounted to a negative R41 per share.
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www.iol.co.za

Tongaat Hulett: Creditors are in control

After years characterised by wrongdoing and mismanagement Tongaat Hulett (Tongaat) is on the mend.
www.iol.co.za www.iol.co.za
 
How the heck did they get access to R10 billion in credit, what was that even for?

There's must have been crooks at Tongaat and the lenders?
 

Trading in Tongaat Hulett shares suspended​


The company says it was notified of the decision by the JSE on Tuesday.

Tongatt Hulett says it had voluntarily approached the securities exchange asking for a temporary suspension of its listing due to delays in the release of its results.

The financial statements had been expected at the end of March.

Their release was extended to the end of this month.
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www.ecr.co.za

Trading in Tongaat Hulett shares suspended

Trading in Tongaat Hulett shares has been suspended.
www.ecr.co.za www.ecr.co.za
 
Sold my TON when they were around 900 cents, glad I did.
 
Binary_Bark said:
Hulett’s share price leaps 13% as turnaround strategy begins to show some results



www.iol.co.za

Hulett’s share price leaps 13% as turnaround strategy begins to show some results

Tongaat Hulett’s share price leapt more than 13percent on the JSE on Friday morning after the agriculture and agri-processing business narrowed its losses by 79percent for the year to end March, benefiting from its turnaround strategy implemented last year.
www.iol.co.za www.iol.co.za
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turnaround strategy:

Now where did I hear this before? Oh, yeah. At Transnet - and we all know how that panned out :rolleyes:
 
upup said:
I know a guy who buys sugar from Brazil, packed it sell it cheaper, most people buy the cheapest, in sugar's case, not knowing where it comes from, and don't care.
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Apparently quality is not that good (or wasn't when I knew guys that bought bulk sugar) and there is supposed to be tariff protection in place to make the price of imported sugar match that produced locally. Swazi sugar could be even cheaper?
 

Tongaat Hulett fraud case headed to trial​


Ex-CEO Peter Staude and executives Murray Munro, Michael Deighton, Rory Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh, Samantha Shukla, as well as Deloitte audit partner Gavin Kruger, made another appearance in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Monday morning.
They are accused of backdating land sale agreements between 2015 and 2018.
As a result, the company declared inflated profits, which allegedly saw the suspects pocketing huge bonuses.

The group is also accused of contravening the Financial Markets Act, the Companies Act and Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
"The matter was adjourned to the 15th of September 2022 for their first appearance in the High Court," says KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara.
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www.ecr.co.za

Tongaat Hulett fraud case headed to trial

The fraud case against several former Tongaat Hulett executives and an auditor is headed to trial.
www.ecr.co.za www.ecr.co.za
 

R8.5bn Tongaat business rescue plan in jeopardy after court challenge​


The Tongaat Hulett business rescue is in deep trouble.

This follows the filing of an explosive final affidavit in a Durban High Court challenge to the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) and the Vision consortium selected to buy up about R8.5-billion of crippling Tongaat Hulett debt.

The “secured” claims are held by a “lender group” led by Standard Bank, which has the biggest exposure to the sugar producer.


The case is based on an application by a small, unsecured creditor, Powertrans, led by its sole owner, Durban businesswoman Mohini Naidoo.

Naidoo is asking the court to set aside the business rescue plan adopted at the meeting of creditors held on 11 January.
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www.dailymaverick.co.za

R8.5bn Tongaat Hulett business rescue plan in serious trouble

Court challenge calls for business rescue plan to be set aside and raises major new concerns about the process, including that opaque Zimbabwean interests are now dominating the R8.5bn deal.
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za
 

R580 million extortion claims rock Tongaat Hulett takeover​


A consortium that has taken over ailing sugar giant Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) was allegedly approached by a shareholder to pay US$32 million (R580 million) in exchange for its vote.

According to industry sources with insight into the matter, a new shareholder who had acquired a stake from one of THL's original shareholders approached the Robert Gumede-led Vision Investments with the offer before shareholders voted on Vision's debt to equity swap proposal on Thursday, August 8.
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Sticky delays keep sugar giant Tongaat Hulett in limbo

More than two years after entering business rescue, the company has remained stuck in the process. However, an announcement on Wednesday marks some momentum at last. It marks the last required competition authority sign-off across all jurisdictions involved in the transaction.
What began as a high-stakes turnaround of one of Africa’s oldest sugar producers is now mired in delays more than two years after Tongaat Hulett entered the business rescue process. Vision Investments, the preferred strategic equity partner in the rescue plan, missed its third payment deadline on 31 March.

Despite a business rescue plan approved by 98.5% of creditors and proof of funds from Standard Bank, Vision has yet to meet its financial commitments.
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www.dailymaverick.co.za

Sticky delays keep sugar giant Tongaat Hulett in limbo

More than two years after entering business rescue, the company has remained stuck in the process. However, an announcement on Wednesday marks some momentum at last. It marks the last required competition authority sign-off across all jurisdictions involved in the transaction.
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za
 

Legal battles complicate Tongaat Hulett’s rescue as statutory obligations loom large​


While the massive sugar mills of KwaZulu-Natal continue to churn, the legal and financial scaffolding holding up Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) has undergone a substantive change.

The company’s business rescue process, which has meandered through boardrooms and courtrooms since late 2022, hit a legal ceiling in December 2025.

Although the Vision Group has successfully settled the company’s bank debts, a December ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has stripped the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of their ability to suspend statutory industry payments.
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www.dailymaverick.co.za

Legal battles complicate Tongaat Hulett’s rescue as statutory obligations loom large

The Supreme Court of Appeal has confirmed that the sugar giant cannot pause its industry obligations, adding financial pressure just as the Vision Group races to refinance IDC funding and close the de…
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za
 

Bittersweet end for Tongaat Hulett as rescuers throw in the towel​


The struggle to save Tongaat Hulett Limited has reached a terminal point. According to a media release issued by the company’s joint business rescue practitioners, they have applied to the KwaZulu-Natal division of the High Court for an order to discontinue rescue proceedings and place the sugar producer into provisional liquidation.

The move comes exactly a week after the business rescue practitioners launched a final legal salvo on Thursday, 5 February 2026, seeking leave to appeal a December 2025 Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling regarding the status of industry levies to the South African Sugar Association.
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www.dailymaverick.co.za

Bittersweet end for Tongaat Hulett as rescuers throw in the towel

The sugar giant’s business rescue practitioners have filed for provisional liquidation after a R12-billion collapse, citing a breakdown in funding talks and new demands from the Vision consortium.…
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za
 
Timeline of Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue process

27 October 2022 – Tongaat Hulett enters voluntary business rescue due to severe financial distress and debt.
November 2022 – Business rescue practitioners request legal extensions to publish the formal rescue plan.
9 January 2024 – RGS Holdings withdraws its bid, leaving the Vision consortium as the sole remaining option.
11 January 2024 – Creditors approve the Vision plan, involving asset acquisition and debt assumption.
2024-2025 – Implementation is hampered by legal hurdles, missed funding deadlines and operational delays.
19 February 2025 – The high court dismisses RGS’ attempt to block the Vision-led plan.
June 2025 – Gavin Dalgleish is appointed CEO to oversee the final rescue transition.
December 2025 – The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Tongaat cannot suspend statutory sugar industry levies during business rescue, adding financial pressure.
Early February 2026 – Vision and the Industrial Development Corporation fail to reach a funding agreement; the sale agreement lapses.
5 February 2026 - BRPs announce they will appeal the SCA levy ruling at the Constitutional Court.
12 February 2026 - Business rescue practitioners file for provisional liquidation following the collapse of funding negotiations.
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Very sad indeed, a company that survived for well over a 100 years and had achieved so much in that time .

  • Peter Staude (CEO): Retired in October 2018. He was later the primary focus of civil and criminal charges related to the fraud.
  • Murray Munro (CFO): Stepped down in August 2018, initially citing medical leave. He was later fined R6 million and banned from serving as a director for 10 years by the JSE.

  • Sean Slabbert (Finance Executive): A director of the sugar division also implicated in the forensic findings.
  • **Michael Deighton (MD of Tongaat Hulett Developments): Left in 2018; he was specifically linked
 
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