Vision Sugar South Africa, a subsidiary of Vision Investments, has reaffirmed its commitment to acquiring the sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, despite legal actions brought by competitors in the process, including the RGS Holdings group, according to a report published on Monday, July 7, by the news portal Engineering News.
According to the outlet, the company stated that it remains fully focused on the “successful implementation of Tongaat’s business rescue plan (BRP),” with the goal of fully restoring the company’s operations, safeguarding jobs, and rebuilding the business to ensure its long-term sustainability.
The group noted that the acquisition process is “well underway” and supported by new leadership, capital injection, and greater operational discipline. Vision claims that “improvements are already being observed in the performance levels of Tongaat’s facilities.” The company emphasized that the recovery of Tongaat represents not only commercial value but also essential economic and social value for the region.
Despite the progress, the process faces legal opposition. Vision confirmed that it “intends to appeal the latest legal action filed by RGS Group Holdings, which accuses the company of using Tongaat’s assets to finance or guarantee the acquisition.” On July 4, the Durban High Court ruled that Vision must provide certain documents and information related to the acquisition of loans and guarantees previously held by a group of Tongaat’s creditors. However, Vision stressed that “the decision is limited to disclosure obligations and does not compromise the implementation of the rescue plan or affect the integrity of the acquisition.”
This marks the fourth lawsuit filed by RGS against Vision. A previous attempt to block the rescue plan was dismissed by the High Court of KwaZulu-Natal province. RGS had even submitted an alternative recovery proposal for Tongaat as part of its acquisition attempt but later withdrew the plan shortly before the creditor vote, following allegations that it had submitted fraudulent financing evidence.
Vision reiterated that “its commitment to Tongaat’s recovery remains firm and unchanged.” The group aims to complete the acquisition of Tongaat’s South African assets and operations by offsetting the purchase price with the value of the claims held by creditors. Vision is currently acquiring $460 million (29.5 billion meticais) of Tongaat’s debt from creditors and intends to convert most of it into equity.
As part of preparations for the transition to operational control, Vision launched a round of stakeholder meetings last month in the four main countries where Tongaat operates: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana. The initiative was led by the group’s CEO, Gavin Dalgleish.
Tongaat Hulett entered business rescue in October 2022, following a financial collapse caused by high levels of debt, alleged accounting irregularities, and mismanagement by the previous administration.
Source: DE
