Prominent 33-year-old company in South Africa being liquidated
Efora Energy Limited is set for liquidation, with the company’s shares currently suspended from trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Efora was incorporated in February 1993 under the name Manga-Chem Products Proprietary Limited. It was listed in the venture capital sector of the JSE’s securities exchange in October 1994.
It was incorporated to establish a manganese sulphate manufacturing and marketing business. The company’s name would change to SA Mineral Resources Corporation Limited by December 1996.
A decade later, on the final day of 2007, the company was restructured and recapitalised, where Encha Capital acquired a controlling interest in the company.
Encha Capital was 51% owned by Encha Group, which was an investment holding company with exploration, industrial and property interests.
In December 2008, the company’s name was again changed to SacOil Holdings Limited, aimed to reflect the company’s new direction.
The company then transferred its listing from the venture capital sector of the securities exchange operated by the JSE to the ‘Mining – Integrated Oil and Gas’ sector on the main board.
From 2014, the group’s primary focus was on assembling a diverse portfolio of cash-generative assets and projects throughout the African continent, spanning upstream and downstream.
The company would acquire the Lagia Oil Field in Egypt in 2014 and establish a crude trading allocation in Nigeria in 2016.
The company would also acquire a controlling interest in Afric Oil, a leading fuel product distribution business in Southern Africa, in May 2017.
From 2013 to 2017, the company was chaired by former Finance and Labour Minister and Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni.
The company would then formally begin trading under the name Efora Energy Ltd in November 2017.
Its board underwent a major rebranding exercise to reflect the evolution of the company at the time, aimed at reflecting the group’s evolution.
The name Efora was an abbreviated form of “Energy for Africa”, with the oil and gas company looking to play a central role in the distribution of fuel products.
End of the line
The company was in serious trouble in 2025 after missing deadlines to publish its financial results for the year ended 28 February 2025.
The company’s shares stopped trading on the JSE on 10 July 2025 following the late publication of its year-end results.
It then made several cautionary announcements on the JSE in the following months, stating that it had entered into various negotiations, which could have a material impact on its share price.
In a new update, the company said that the engagements related to the proposed transaction have been terminated and will not proceed.
It said that the successful conclusion of the proposed transaction was expected to provide the company with adequate funding to support its ongoing operations and strategic objectives.
With the negotiations cancelled and regard being had to the company’s financial position and professional advice, the company has decided to call it a day.
Its board has resolved that it is in the best interests of the company, its creditors and affected stakeholders to apply for an order placing the company into provisional liquidation at the High Court.
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