The consortium seeking to buy beleaguered sugar producer Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL), Vision Parties, has confirmed to THL’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) that it has received the credit approval that allows it to meet the rest of its payment obligations to the Lender Group of secured creditors of THL. This means that the Vision Parties consortium will, using this credit facility, be able to conclude its acquisition of the claims held by the Lender Group members (who had supplied funding to THL before it entered business rescue in 2022).

“The credit approval that has been obtained by the Vision Parties further demonstrates the veracity of both the Lender Group and the Vision Parties’ prior assertions that the Vision Parties were able to fulfil all of their payment obligations to the Lender Group in terms of the Vision Business Rescue Plan (“the Plan”),” assured the BRPs in their statement. “This marks a pivotal milestone in the successful implementation of the Plan and again fortifies the BRP’s belief that the Plan remains capable of implementation.”

The Vision Parties and the Lender Group have agreed to extend the final payment date (for the remaining balance of the agreed purchase price) from March 31 to April 30 this year. This was necessary to allow the drafting and agreement of the required credit approval agreements.

“THL and the BRPs recognise that this journey has been arduous for all involved,” stated the BRPs. “The rescue of THL has, in part, been complicated by a number of ill-founded court proceedings brought by minor creditors who have sought to stifle the successful implementation of the Plan. Since the approval of the Plan, all of the applications that have been argued in the High Court have been dismissed with costs being awarded in THL and the BRPs’ favour.”

The BRPs expressed their gratitude to all the stakeholders who had stayed committed to achieving a sustainable outcome for THL, that would safeguard the future of the company, its employees, growers, suppliers and their local communities. The BRPs highlighted that THL had a large economic footprint, not only in KwaZulu-Natal province, but also in the neighbouring States of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In KwaZulu-Natal alone, THL directly employed 2 600 people, sourced sugar from 15 000 small-scale growers and supported 25 500 jobs in the rural communities that surrounded its operations.