Professional services group K3 Capital has agreed a £271.7m takeover deal with the the former owner of Dreams and ScS.
The Bolton-headquartered firm revealed it had been talking with Sun European Partners, on behalf of Sun Capital Partners Group, last week after receiving "expressions of interest from multiple parties".
The acquisition is conditional on the approval of independent K3 shareholders.
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Ian Mattioli, non-executive chairman of K3, said: "Since IPO in 2017, management has continued to execute its strategy of building a multi-disciplinary and complementary group, providing specialist advisory services to SMEs across three core divisions, business sales, tax and restructuring.
"K3 is now a diversified group with a resilient, high margin and cash generative business model and a data-driven marketing platform at its core, driving strong levels of organic growth.
"Sun is an experienced investor with a proven track record in supporting strong management teams in achieving their growth ambitions.
"K3 will be able to benefit from their operational expertise whilst having a supportive partner with the capital required to fund K3's M&A strategy.
"Whilst being confident on the outlook for K3, we are mindful of the weakening macroeconomic environment in the UK and the pressures that this is likely to put on UK SMEs over the medium term and, therefore, it is the independent directors view that this offer represents an opportunity for shareholders to realise their entire investment, in cash, at an attractive valuation."
K3 Capital was established in February 2007 by Tony Ford and a co-investor, to acquire KBS Corporate, then called Knightsbridge Business Sales plc, a business broker and business transfer agent.
In the year to May 31, 2022, the group reported a revenue of £70.6m, up from £47.1m, and pre-tax profits of £12.7m, a rise from £7.6m.
Sun European Partners recently hit the headlines in the North West when it acquired a recently-rebranded Manchester customer acquisition specialist for the legal sector.
Alexander Wyndham, a principal at Sun, added: "K3 has consistently won market share across its various verticals and cemented itself as a leader within the SME advisory sector.
"As a long-term investor with significant buy and build experience, we are excited to partner with management to capitalise on market opportunities. We look forward to supporting management scale the business through the expansion of operations and service offerings."
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