Dentons set to enter the Aussie market through a merger with Gadens.
Dentons has announced a three-way merger with Australian firm Gadens and Singaporean firm Rodyk & Davidson, subject to a partner vote.
Denton’s global chief executive Elliot Portnoy and chairman Joe Andrew announced the deal on Monday, following rumours the firms were in talks.
Partners at all three firms will vote on the merger in mid November, according to a report by The Lawyer, with an announcement expected shortly after.
“What we’ve done today is announce that the leadership has made a recommendation to partners, with a vote to take place in mid November,” Andrew told The Lawyer.
“All of the partners of all the firms are considering the combination right now.”
Portnoy and Andrew indicated that they do not expect any regulatory challenges due to the firm’s Swiss Verein structure.
“Once the votes are in and tallied we would then work for the leadership of Gadens and Rodyk and focus on launching the combination in early 2016,” said Elliot.
Gadens, a 500-lawyer firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Singapore and Port Moresby offers Dentons an Australia-wide presence. Rodyk & Davidson offers both Singapore and Shanghai resources.
The Australian Financial review estimated this morning that the merger will increase Denton’s number of lawyers from 6600 to 7300 globally.
