Daybreak Foods enters business rescue

Photo by Alexas Fotos via www.pexels.com

On Tuesday, 20 May 2025, South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) backed a move to place Daybreak Foods, a major poultry producer, into business rescue to avoid liquidation and hopefully save approximately 3,000 jobs.

The PIC said the successful application to place Daybreak Foods in business rescue paves the way to appoint a business rescue practitioner who will assist the poultry producer to assess the extent of disruption to operations and produce a credible turnaround strategy for the business.

The business rescue practitioner will work closely with Daybreak Foods' board.

Before the company was placed in business rescue, the PIC had reconstituted the board for Daybreak as part of interventions to stabilise governance and operations at the company.

Members of the reconstituted Daybreak Foods board are:

Dr Cynthia Charlotte Nkuna (retained, interim chair)
Lehlohonolo Andrew Makenete (interim deputy chair)
Tshokolo Petrus Nchocho
Kgampi Jack Bapela (retained)
Esethu Ayanda Dazana (retained)
Brian Luthuli Mavuka (PIC), and
Martinus Philipus de Jonge (PIC) interim CEO of Daybreak Farms.

“The PIC has already undertaken several measures to contribute towards stabilising Daybreak Foods, which includes the injection of R74m in working capital that is intended to address the company’s immediate liquidity needs.”

The decision to pursue business rescue followed a failed attempt to secure urgent funding to avert collapse last week.

On 16 May, the PIC was unable to obtain R500m in emergency funding needed to settle growing creditor claims.

These included a pending liquidation application brought by three creditors, including Lakat Chicken, which had already secured a provisional liquidation order.

Daybreak Foods was acquired by the PIC in 2015 for R1.19bn. The ownership was divided evenly among three government entities.

These entities were the Government Employees Pension Fund, the Compensation Fund, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund.