PORK processors Karro Food Group are set to be bought over by a London-based investment group in a deal estimated to be worth £180 million.
Based in Yorkshire, Karro has a facility in Cookstown which employs hundreds of workers.
The deal with investment house CapVest marks something of comeback story for Karro, who were formed when they split from the faltering Vion Food Group in late 2012.
Under the ownership of private equity firm Endless, Karro managed an impressive turnaround that saw them leap from the red into the black within the space of just two years.
Karro recorded an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of £26.6m in 2015, compared to £18.6m the previous year.
The achievement was recognised last year when the group picked up the UK's top growth business prize at the Food and Drink Federation Awards.
Buyers CapVest established Valeo Foods in 2010 to combine Irish suppliers Batchelors and Origin Foods, and has since brought honey brand Rowse under the banner.
The London firm also pulled off a lucrative deal in 2008 when it amalgamated seafood company Youngs, which it had purchased for £140m in 2002, and Findus, which it snatched up for £436m in 2006, and sold the resulting entity to Lion Capital for £1.1 billion.
Karro employs more than 3,500 staff at seven sites across the UK, producing the McGees and Case & Sons food lines, among others.
The group’s Cookstown facility processes an estimated 1.2 million pigs every year.
From Cookstown, the company’s customer base includes supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury and Dunnes as well as smaller groups around the north.
Endless LLP has invested tens of million in Karro’s manufacturing capabilities since their takeover and secured a funding package of nearly £75m two years ago to facilitate international expansion.
In April last year, the group landed a contract to supply Cookstown sausages to 16 Asda stores across the north.
Meanwhile, it was reported earlier this week that food giants Dawn Meats were in talks to takeover the Tyrone-based meat company Dunbia, which is run by brothers Jim and Jack Dobson and has annual sales of around £787m.
Dunbia had previously sold off its pork business last year and it is thought the latest plans are an indication the brothers are wrapping up their business interests to prepare for retirement.
