IDC to become Vision shareholder as agreement reached to rescue Tongaat

The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of Tongaat Hulett have reached an agreement with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and the Vision Group of companies to preserve Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue, maintain trading operations and support implementation of the approved business rescue plan.

This agreement will see the IDC become a significant shareholder in Vision companies across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, while extending post-commencement finance (PCF) support to Tongaat Hulett to the end of September.

Under the terms of the agreement, the IDC will extend its PCF support to enable Tongaat Hulett to continue trading while the transaction is implemented.

The parties have also agreed to restructure the IDC’s PCF into equity finance at the appropriate level, as part of the overall transaction framework to support a more sustainable capital structure on emergence from business rescue.

For Vision, the agreement reflects a long-term commitment to the South African and regional sugar industry.