The private equity owner of Asda has agreed a deal to buy a majority stake in a group that specializes in supporting British SMEs.
Sky Information has learned that TDR Capital has agreed to take a majority stake in CorpAcq, less than six months after the so-called ‘corporate combiner’ aborted a deal to list in the US.
City sources said this weekend that CorpAcq, which makes around £125m in annual profit, was being valued at more than £1bn in terms of enterprise value in the deal with TDR.
Founded in 2006, CorpAcq, which sponsors Sale FC Rugby’s stadium near its base in Altrincham, has amassed a portfolio of more than 40 companies.
He specializes in purchasing and construction strategies, with a focus on companies operating in the industrial products and services sectors.
The company’s acquisition plan allows SME founders to retain management control while gaining a long-term investment partner to offer operational support to those companies.
The founder of CorpAcq is Simon Orange, brother of former Take That member Jason and co-owner of Sale Sharks.
In 2023, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by Michael Klein, a top Wall Street financier, announced a $1.5 billion plan to take CorpAcq public.
The merger was called off in August last year, when Klein’s vehicle, Churchill Capital VII, cited difficult IPO market conditions.
Banking sources said TDR and CorpAcq had entered into talks long after the SPAC deal was abandoned.
The deal, which could be announced within weeks, is the latest struck by TDR, which also counts pub giant Stonegate and David Lloyd Leisure among its investment portfolio.
A TDR spokesman declined to comment.
