High court rules Tongaat's Thursday vote won't go ahead, bars existing plans

The Durban High Court ruled on Wednesday that a planned vote on Thursday on sugar producer Tongaat Hulett's business rescue plan won't go ahead as scheduled, also ruling that the plans can't be voted on in their unamended form.

The court also ruled that the matter of Tongaat's appeal against an earlier judgment, as well as the applications brought by RCL Foods and the Sugar Association of SA (SASA), are postponed, without dates being set. The matter of legal costs is yet to be determined.

The court said the vote should be reconvened by no later than 11 January, implying that the business rescue practitioners may be able to amend the plans, though this could itself invite further court action.