Listed law firm Slater & Gordon is set to be owned by a group of hedge funds led by Ancorage Capital following a debt-for-equity deal which sees the existing shareholders wiped out. The plan would see all UK operations and subsidiaries spun out from the listed company and transferred to a new UK holding company, UK HoldCo, which will be wholly owned by the senior lenders.
Public listing
S&G was the first law firm to go public by listing on the ASX in 2007. It later acquired personal injury specialist law firm Russell Jones in 2012 to enter the UK market and has made a number of acquisitions since, the largest and most troublesome one being its acquisition of Quindell which it bought two years ago. The firm subsequently acquired other law firms including Fentons, Pannone, Goodmans Law, Marrons, John Pickering and Partners, Flint Bishop's claimant personal injury practice, Walker Smith Way Legal and the personal injury and court of protection practices of Taylor Vintner. Recently S&G issued a £637m claim against Quindell (now known as Watchstone Group), alleging the company fraudulently misrepresented itself during the purchase.
Results
S&G also this week announced its financial results for the year ending 30 June 2017, with the firm incurring a loss of A$546.8m for the period, largely due to a write-down on the Quindell acquisition.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
