Merger talks between SJ Berwin and Orrick fall through

Negotiations between London firm SJ Berwin, and San Fransisco firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, were abandoned today. Orrick was considered the most likely partner for the firm, after talks were held with several other American firms in recent months, including Goodwin Proctor and Proskauer Rose. SJ Berwin, with its high exposure to private equity and commercial property markets, suffered a 14 per cent drop in revenue last year as the financial crisis took its toll on those sectors. Orrick is one of the Californian law firms, and is the 25th largest in the US. Ralph Baxter, the chairman at Orrick, said that the firm had decided against the merger “based on our discussions to date and the information now available to us”. He added: “No one issue led us to this decision, and we leave this process with great respect for SJ Berwin.”

Merger talks between SJ Berwin and Orrick fall through business.timesonline.co.uk Wed, May 5, 2010