A decision is expected soon regarding the sale of sugar giant Tongaat Hulett.
Three bidders, Kagera, Terris, and the Mozambican RGS company, are understood to be the front runners in becoming Tongaat Hulett’s strategic equity partner. The sugar firm, which has a debt burden of about R7 billion, has been under business rescue since October last year.
The company’s business rescue practitioners - Trevor Murgatroyd, Peter van den Steen, and Gerhard Albertyn - had named Kagera Sugar of Tanzania as the winning bidder in a deal believed to be worth over R3 billion.
However, Business Times reported that RGS and Terris, which is a consortium led by billionaire South African businessman Robert Gumede, had made new proposals to the BRPS.
A spokesperson for the BRPs said an update was expected on Tuesday.
Tongaat Hulett is expected to sell its assets in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique to the SEP, which will take over the assets.
In July, Kagera, which had been in the pound seat after the BRPs announced them as preferred SEP, is owned by Tanzanian billionaire Nassor Seif and his family.
The Terris Consortium, which includes Gumede’s Guma operation in South Africa, Zimbabwean entity Remoggo, Almoiz of Pakistan, and Terris Sugar, an investment company operating in the Cayman Islands, wrote to the IDC and business rescue practitioners in late August, seeking answers about why they had not been selected. They reportedly also submitted a new proposal.
The RGS group also reportedly produces sugar, tea, maize, and flour. They reportedly tabled a R6 billion proposal for Tongaat Hulett.
RGS was also reportedly open to partnering with partners in SA.
City Press reported three weeks ago that a senior executive at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) had resigned after allegedly giving Kagera a written false promise of R2 billion in funding to convince the BRPs to select the Tanzanian company as the preferred SEP.
An investigation was reportedly underway.
Matthew Parks, the spokesperson for trade union Cosatu, said they wanted to see the company get back on its feet and ensure that all jobs were saved.
“We want to see the company get back on its feet as a primary issue and then ensure that the company saves all the jobs.
“At a secondary level, we would like to see the ownership preserving a South African ownership so that the profits of the company can be retained in the country,” he said.
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