- South Africa's PIC plans to sell majority stake in Daybreak
- Moov is looking for a strategic investor after years of losses and mismanagement
- Poultry firm in commercial rescue amid financial and governance issues
South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa's largest asset manager, is planning to sell its majority stake in poultry producer Daybreak Foods, Bloomberg reports. The state pension fund manager is seeking to sell more than 60% of its stake in the Johannesburg-based company.
PIC aims to bring in a strategic partner capable of injecting capital into a business that still supplies approximately 6% of South Africa's chicken consumption. PIC board chairman David Masondo said, “We must exit because we have become 100% shareholders by default.”
The comments highlight the fund's concerns about its investment in Daybreak. Previously part of the Afgri Group, the company was acquired in 2015 for 1.19 billion rand ($70.2 million) by a black-owned consortium led by Matom Maponya Investments, with PIC backing.
PIC took full control in October 2017 following approval from the Competition Tribunal. The move followed a January 2017 call by the ruling African National Congress for state intervention in poultry farms hit by low-cost imports from the United States, Brazil and the European Union.
almost a decade of crisis
Despite its difficulties, Daybreak was once a significant player in the South African poultry market along with Astral Foods and Rainbow Chicken. Hopes for change were not fulfilled. Over the past decade, the company has faced allegations of fraud, inflated supply contracts, delayed salary payments and animal welfare concerns, including reports of chickens dying from starvation.
These governance failures led to increased financial losses, prompting the PIC to inject approximately 1.7 billion rand into the business with little results.
In May 2025, as the situation became untenable, the board placed Daybreak under business rescue, a South African legal process aimed at rehabilitating distressed companies rather than liquidating them.
The company's troubles have also drawn political scrutiny. The Democratic Alliance said it would refer the matter to parliament's finance committee and called for a full investigation, calling it a “financial and moral crisis”. The party accused officials of earning six-figure salaries while workers did not get paid and animals died from neglect, and urged the Financial Sector Conduct Authority to investigate the role of the PIC and other public entities.
Since entering business rescue, Daybreak has been operating under a three-phase restructuring plan that includes job cuts, streamlining operations, focusing on core profitable areas and improved regulatory compliance.
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