Cerberus, the US private equity group, is to acquire Torex Retail, the troubled retail software group, for £204.4 million.

The deal, for less than half its value when its shares were suspended in January, could be challenged by shareholders as most of the proceeds will go to its banks, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, which have lent more than £200 million.

Steve Marshall, Torex Retail’s chairman, said: “The sale of the business was the only viable option available to the board.”

News of the deal came as it emerged that the Financial Services Authority is considering calling Christopher Moore, the former Torex Retail chairman, as a witness for its inquiry into iSoft, the NHS software supplier. It is understood that the FSA is working with the Serious Fraud Office, which is conducting a separate inquiry into Torex Retail.

The FSA began its inquiry into iSoft after the company, which supplies software to the NHS National Programme for IT, uncovered accounting irregularities in July last year.

Torex, then a healthcare and retail software supplier, was sold to iSoft in 2004. Its retail arm was later spun out and Mr Moore, then chairman at Torex, moved to Torex Retail.

ISoft revealed a £495.5 million goodwill charge in its 2006 annual report, 80 per cent of which related to its acquisition of Torex.

Mr Moore is not a suspect in the FSA’s inquiry but is one of five suspects in the SFO’s inquiry into Torex Retail.

It is understood that Mr Moore is yet to be interviewed by the SFO.

Both the FSA and iSoft declined to comment.

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