According to an affidavit by Puma CEO Pieter Burger, filed in court on Wednesday, the rugby union request that ISG should be liquidated for failing to pay R538 300 owed to them.

In the affidavit, Mr Burger stated that a sponsorship agreement was reached between the Mpumalanga Rugby Union and ISG on 13 October 2018. The agreement was for R5 million per annum starting with R1 million on 24 November and the same amount on 24 December 2018. Thereafter ten instalments of R300 000 would be payable on the 24th day of every month until October 2019.

After ISG allegedly failed to pay any of the money, a meeting was held on 15 January where the payments were renegotiated with an increased instalment amount over eleven months.

Although ISG did make payments to the amount of R2 284 426, an amount of R538 300 was, according to the affidavit, still outstanding by April. After a letter requesting payment was not answered, a formal letter of notice of cancelling of the memorandum of agreement, was sent on 11 April.

Mr Burger stated that ISG benefitted from the agreement by receiving advertising for the brand.

In a letter of demand sent in July, it was requested that ISG pay R538 300 within 21 days as well as damages to the amount of R607 151 because the Puma rugby team had to be re-issued with new kit without the ISG logo.

The rugby union also argued that it is owed a further R3 465 573, the outstanding amount of the R5 750 000 as per annual agreement. Mr Burger argued in his affidavit that they received no payment from ISG after they were served with a letter of demand. It is further stated that ISG did not pay outstanding monies, despite renegotiating the terms, thus indicating that they never had the intention to pay.

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In a responding document filed in court, Hefferman Attorneys on behalf of ISG, said that the company registration number for the rugby union that is present on the memorandum of agreement, belongs to a company named Van Riebeeck Stadium (Pty) Ltd. that has been deregistered. (Van Riebeeck Stadium was the old name for the stadium in eMalahleni the Pumas called home before they moved to the stadium in Mbombela).

Mr Sean Hefferman argued in an affidavit that it was therefore not necessary for the court to consider the application as the agreement with ISG was made with a deregistered company.

Never the less he asked for condonation to be granted by the court for the late filing of an intention to defend the liquidation application.

Mr Hefferman stated that Hefferman Attorneys has been on record for ISG since 15 July. He says that ISG moved to a different address in April and that the application served by the sherriff shows that it was done by sticking it to the outer door of a vacant premises.

Mr Hefferman said that he would have expected the attorneys for the Mpumalanga Rugby Union to forward a copy of the application via email to his offices.

He claims that they received a copy of the liquidation application on 6 September and filed a notice of intention to defend the application on the same day.

The court granted ISG time until 30 September to file a formal response whereafter a new court date will be set.