Cape Town – Historic sugar producer Tongaat Hulett will be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on November 3, 2026, ending a 74-year presence on the bourse following years of financial distress, an accounting scandal and business rescue proceedings.
According to Daily Investor, the JSE announced its decision on October 12, citing the company’s failure to meet the obligations of a listed entity, its lack of audited financial statements and the suspension of its shares for four years.
Tongaat Hulett was first listed in 1952 as J L Hulett & Sons. It later merged with The Tongaat Group in 1982 to form the business that became one of South Africa’s most prominent sugar producers.
The company’s decline accelerated after an accounting scandal came to light in 2019, involving the inflation of profits over several years. The revelations resulted in a R12 billion write-down in its value. Its shares were suspended in July 2022 after it failed to publish its annual financial results, and it entered voluntary business rescue later that year.
Proposed liquidation
The decision comes despite efforts to preserve the company’s operations and protect jobs across the sugar industry.
In February 2026, Reuters reported that the government opposed Tongaat Hulett’s proposed liquidation, warning of severe consequences for workers, farmers and the broader sugar industry. The company’s difficulties threatened thousands of direct jobs and livelihoods across the sugar-cane value chain.
However, a rescue agreement was reached in June. Moneyweb reported that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners and the Vision Group concluded a binding agreement that halted the immediate threat of liquidation and enabled the company to continue its restructuring process.
The rescue agreement offered hope for the company’s operations, but did not prevent its removal from the JSE.
Debt obligation
Under the delisting arrangements, shareholders will retain their shares as unlisted holdings, but they will not receive a buyout payment. Daily Investor reported that Tongaat Hulett’s operating assets are being disposed of to meet its debt obligations, with no value or future distributions expected to accrue to shareholders.
The company’s business rescue process will continue after the delisting takes effect.
The development marks a significant turning point for a business that played a major role in South Africa’s agricultural and sugar-processing industries, while leaving employees, growers, creditors and shareholders facing an uncertain future.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
