Tongaat Hulett, a 134 year-old South African sugar maker, is on the brink of collapse again as its administrators prepare to place the firm into bankruptcy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company’s strategic partners — Vision Group and the Industrial Development Corp — have been in negotiations to secure funding but have failed to meet certain deadlines, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.
A financing deal could still be negotiated even if Tongaat is placed into liquidation, the people said. Any funding would need to follow due process and receive approval from the IDC’s board, they said.
“It’s most unfortunate that the Vision business rescue plan has been allowed to fail,” Vision Group member Robert Gumede said in response to questions. “However, Vision shareholders are still committed to save Tongaat South Africa.”
IDC declined to comment and referred the matter to the company’s business rescue managers, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.
Vision Group agreed to acquire R11.7 billion ($735 million) of Tongaat’s debt, and will be owed that money even as the company goes into liquidation, said the people.
The Vision Group’s plan included a debt-to-equity restructuring initially designed to save the company from liquidation. The debt was taken over from Investec, Absa Group and Nedbank Group.
Tongaat employs thousands of workers and indirectly supports tens of thousands of jobs. Tongaat first came under pressure in 2019, when it was hit by a serious accounting scandal. It was officially placed into administration three years later.
Founded in 1892 and named after the uThongathi River in southeastern KwaZulu-Natal province, Tongaat operates three mills with the capacity to crush more than 4.8 million tons of cane a year, according to its website.
The company has sugar operations in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
© 2026 Bloomberg