Mayer Brown and Clyde & Co have won lead roles advising on the £136m acquisition of Heritage Underwriting Agency by insurer Argo.

Mayer Brown advised Argo, with corporate partner Stephanie Bates leading a team of London partners including Gary Cooper and Lauri-Lynn Pursall (corporate), David Chadwick, Jane Childs and Ian McKenna (all insurance).

The deal is the first that Mayer Brown's London office has advised Argo on, although the Bermuda-headquartered insurer is a regular client of the firm in the US.

The firm's Chicago office provided additional advice on the transaction, with corporate tax partner Buz Craven and securities partner Bruce Perce advising on US aspects of the acquisition.

Meanwhile, Clydes advised Heritage, with London corporate partner Gary Thorpe and corporate insurance partner Andrew Holderness taking lead roles.

The offering will see Nasdaq-listed Argo, which was formed through the 2007 merger of Argonaut Group and PXRE, acquire up to 90% of the London-based insurance company.

Bates told Legal Week: "The deal enabled us to combine the strengths of our corporate group with those of our insurance and reinsurance group in what was a fast-moving transaction. There has been a fair amount of consolidation in the insurance market already, and we are well placed to take advantage of this."

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