Dave Woollam: Tongaat has sold the crown jewels – because it just had to

Shareholder activist Dave Woollam has been keeping us updated on the survival efforts of embattled Tongaat Hullett, which last week sold its highly profitable Starch division for R5.35bn. Woollam agrees with new CEO Gavin Hudson that the price received was a good one – especially given the stress that everyone knows Tongaat is under. But he also explains that a business which delivered R300m a year to the group's cash flows will be sorely missed. But needs must right now as a group that was once the pride of KZN is forced into selling the crown jewels to keep its bankers from foreclosing. Little wonder that Tongaat's market value is just R400m – one twentieth of the debt that remains after the latest asset sale. – Alec Hogg

Well, the man who's been keeping us on the board of Tongaat is David Woollam. You might remember in the times we've spoken with David, he approached the Tongaat board, gave them financials, and said they were running into trouble. They basically, politely kicked him out of the building but now they're listening and they're listening very carefully. Dave, I've seen the work and the research that you've done on Tongaat. Before we go into this huge sale of their starch division for more than R5bn this guy Gavin Hudson – the new Chief Executive – he's ducking me. He doesn't want to talk to me.  I've asked him. I've even offered to go down and see him in Durban. Is he actually all that he's made out to be? The media are making him out to be quite a special guy but why would he be behaving in this way?

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