By Jon Robinson
A $1.6bn (£1.26bn) merger involving Corpacq, an investment group founded by the brother of a former Take That singer, is on the verge of being approved after being delayed by six months.
In August 2023, Cheshire-headquartered Corpacq, which was founded by Simon Orange, first announced the deal with Churchill Capital Corp VII, a special purpose investment vehicle set up as a trust account by New York corporate financier Michael Klein.
The deal will see the combined group list on the New York Stock Exchange and trade as Corpacq Group Plc.
When the merger was first announced, it had originally been expected that it would be completed in February this year.
However, in January that deadline was pushed back to August.
Now, a new filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed that a date of July 25 has been selected for a vote of Churchill Capital Corp VII’s shareholders regarding the deal.
If backed, the merger is expected to be completed shortly afterwards.
Corpacq has more than 40 portfolio businesses including the likes of Cotton Traders, Aintree Plastics and Metcalfe Plant Hire.
As well as being the founder and chairman of Corpacq, Simon Orange is also the co-owner of Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks.
Speaking in August when the deal was first announced, Orange said: “Today is an exciting milestone in Corpacq’s history and validation of our team, our tremendous growth and our approach of partnering closely with and empowering portfolio companies to drive long-term performance. We are thrilled to partner with Churchill VII.
“With their team’s deep M&A and capital markets expertise, track record of value-added investing in companies as well as an extensive relationship network, we are confident that Churchill VII is the right partner to propel CorpAcq’s next phase of growth.
“As a public company, we believe Corpacq will be better positioned to accelerate organic growth, expand our acquisition pipeline deeper in the UK and deliver compounding returns to shareholders, all while staying true to our ethos of fostering autonomy at our portfolio companies and investing over a long time horizon.”
