Mishcon de Reya announces new merger ahead of IPO

Law firm Mishcon de Reya has agreed a merger with life sciences specialist Taylor Vinters after recently confirming its plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). 
 
The deal will result in a new legal and consultancy business, named MDR Taylor Vinters, which will be led by Taylor Vinters’ management team. 
Mishcon said Taylor Vinters, which operates in Oxford, Cambridge and London, had demonstrated a “fast growth trajectory” with revenue up 40 per cent over the last three years. 
 
Its turnover last year was reported to be £20m compared with Mishcon de Reya’s turnover of £188m, according to The Times.
The life sciences business completed over 160 venture funding rounds last year and supported a quarter of seed stage equity funding in the UK, Mishcon said in a statement. 
 
The deal was described by Mishcon de Reya’s innovation department chair, Jeremy Hertzog, as “a transformational moment for both firms.”
Mishcon executive chair Kevin Gold said: “This strategic combination is the culmination of years of thinking about how best to develop our business in the innovation space.”
 
At the start of the month Mishcon de Reya officials confirmed that at least three quarters of the partnership voted in favour of the planned initial public offering (IPO) of the firm. 
The law firm will be only the sixth traditional law partnership to make the transition to becoming a publicly listed legal services company. 
 
All Mishcon staff, including trainees and junior lawyers, will become shareholders when the company is listed, though the timeframe is still unclear. 
Earlier in the year Mishcon, who brought on board JP Morgan to advise on the IPO, said the listing “might take place as early as the fourth quarter of 2021.”
 
The firm, founded in 1937 in Brixton, is one of the most prominent law firms in the capital.
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