Slater & Gordon makes $947M offer to acquire major UK personal injury law firm
Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly traded law firm, is poised to acquire most of a major United Kingdom competitor.
Assuming that Quindell partners agree in an April 17 vote with the recommendation of their board of directors, Slater & Gordon is to pay 637 million pounds (about $947 million in U.S. dollars) for the personal injury practice of Quindell. Personal injury accounts for about 90 percent of Quindell’s operations, and the firm is planning to reconfigure its remaining business as an insurance technology provider, according to the DealBook page of the New York Times (reg. req.), Reuters and the Telegraph.
“The combination of Slater & Gordon and PSD creates the number one personal injury law firm in the UK,” said managing director Andrew Grech of Slater & Gordon, referring to the professional services division of Quindell. “It further diversifies our sources of legal work, broadening access to claims management companies, insurers and insurance brokers.”
Slater & Gordon currently has about as many staff in Australia as in the U.K., but that will change if the acquisition goes through, the Australian notes.
Since going public in 2007, Slater & Gordon has increased its personal injury claims market share from 8 percent to 26 percent in Australia. It entered the U.K. market 2011 and now has an estimated 5 percent of the PI market there, which is five times as large as Australia’s, reports the Australian Financial Review.
Slater & Gordon and Quindell are now the number-one and number-three personal injury firms in the U.K.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Public Company to Buy UK Law Firm for $30M to Enhance Insurance Claims-Management Business”
ABAJournal.com: “Australia’s Slater & Gordon Snaps Up UK Personal Injury Firm, Russell Jones & Walker, for $84M”
ABAJournal.com: “UK Outsourcer Announces Plans to Buy Another Law Firm”
ABAJournal.com: “Australia’s publicly traded Slater & Gordon raising $64M to buy more UK personal injury firms:
