{"id":864875,"date":"2026-06-29T09:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=864875"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T09:06:13","slug":"iconic-124-year-old-company-in-south-africa-in-business-rescue-completes-r1-27-billion-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/864875\/iconic-124-year-old-company-in-south-africa-in-business-rescue-completes-r1-27-billion-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an era for iconic 124-year-old company in South Africa through R1.27 billion sale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Murray & Roberts Limited (MRL) has completed a R1.27 billion sale, which was the centrepiece of its business rescue plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transaction sees a group of investors led by Differential Capital acquire MRL\u2019s major mining interests, including its Cementation operations in both Africa and the Americas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also includes the Terra Nova Technologies (TNT) businesses. The transaction is the focal point of its business rescue plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MRL entered voluntary business rescue in November 2024 following a period of financial pressure within the broader Murray & Roberts group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray & Roberts dates back to 1902, when it operated as a house builder in the Cape Colony under the name Murray & Stewart. It was listed on the JSE in 1951 and became Murray & Roberts in 1967. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2025, the larger Murray & Roberts Holdings (MRH) was left commercially insolvent due to ongoing business rescue proceedings at MRL, and MRH was delisted from the JSE in early 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new R1.27 billion transaction was designed to preserve the value of the company’s mining companies and secure a future for the broader Murray & Roberts group structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purchase consideration comprises an initial payment of R1 billion at closing and a deferred portion of R270 million payable 12 months thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The completion of the transaction creates a new, financially independent, mining services platform with operations across Africa and the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From the outset, our focus has been on preserving viable businesses, protecting jobs and maximising value for creditors,” said Josh Cunliffe from\u00a0Metis Strategic Advisors, a business rescue practitioner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This outcome would not have been possible without the constructive engagement of employees, creditors, funders, management, regulators and our transaction partners.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parties said that the deal comes during a period when the global mining sector is strengthening, creating new opportunities for specialist mining contractors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Differential Capital, a South African investment firm specialising in complex Special Situations transactions, saw the quality of the businesses and their prospects as a compelling opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Salmon, Head of Special Situations Fund at Differential Capital, said that the group was drawn to the opportunity to preserve a world-class mining services platform with deep technical expertise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Businesses like Cementation and TNT play a critical role in supporting the mining sector, which remains one of the foundations of South Africa’s economy,” Salmon said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By retaining these capabilities, this transaction delivers meaningful value not only for our investors, but for employees, clients, suppliers and the broader mining ecosystem.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not out of the woods<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Throughout the process, Cementation was not in business rescue at any stage and retained its core operational capability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company is now working on projects across several jurisdictions, such as a five-year underground mining development and construction contract at Tharisa Minerals in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the transaction is now complete, Japie du Plessis has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of the new group, with Sibulele Songca appointed as Chief Financial Officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is much more than a change in ownership; it is the start of a new chapter for us,” said Du Plessis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are now focused on building on those foundations, growing the business and creating long-term value for our people, our clients and the mining industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Business Rescue Practitioners, however, noted that even with the closing of the Differential Capital Transaction, the business rescue process in respect of MRL remains ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal has allowed the business rescue practitioners to settle all secured lender debt and all secured post-commencement finance (PCF) obligations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, at this stage, they do not expect to be able to make an unsecured creditor distribution until receipt of the deferred portion of the purchase consideration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, they will continue to monitor the position and will keep creditors informed as the business rescue process continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The mining industry is entering an exciting period of investment and growth, and we are well-positioned to be part of that story,” Du Plessis said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Murray and Roberts Limited has completed the sale of its major mining operations for R1.27 billion, which was central to its business rescue proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":839503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[22258],"class_list":["post-864875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-murray-roberts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864875"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":864898,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864875\/revisions\/864898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}