Allen & Overy and O'Melveny partners meet as merger inches closer
Name of combined firm remains undecided as partners get to know each other
October 26, 2018 at 06:31 AM
3 minute read
Partners from Allen & Overy (A&O) and O'Melveny & Myers have been meeting to find out more about their respective firms, as key details of their proposed transatlantic tie-up – including the name of the combined firm – continue to be discussed.
After a series of recent get-togethers involving management, in recent weeks partners from both firms have been meeting on a more informal basis to get to know each other and learn about their respective working cultures.
It is understood one such meeting was held in Singapore, where both firms have a base.
A number of sources describe the firms as 'inching' closer to a deal, with an expectation in some quarters that a vote could be held before the end of the year. However, with key details such as the name of the combined firm and its compensation structure still to be settled on, it is possible that talks could now run into next year.
The domain name allenomelveny.com was registered earlier this year, although that is understood to be just one of a number of potential options on the table.
One former A&O London partner said: "My sense is they're inching towards a merger. There is some opposition in London, but it's fairly disorganised – there's a lot of moaning but nobody leading a charge."
Meetings involving A&O and O'Melveny leadership have taken place in Germany and London in recent months, while the merger was also top of the agenda at A&O's partner conference in Miami, and sources close to the deal suggest that efforts to build support for the merger are paying off.
One former London A&O partner who left the firm this year said: "Warmth was growing towards it from A&O. There are hotspots in O'Melveny that are especially good – antitrust, for example – and the A&O competition partners thought that would be great.
"The A&O litigators, especially in the US, desperately want to have it. They've never had a strong brand in the US and this gives them a way."
However, one current partner argued: "I don't think it's a slam dunk. It is a numbers vote – but even if you have 500 partners in favour and 50 corporate partners in London against it, you'd be a brave person to put it to a vote."
If a merger between the two firms were to go ahead, it would create a business with a combined revenues of more than £2bn ($2.6bn) and a total lawyer headcount of about 3,000.
The two firms have similar profitability, with O'Melveny seeing profit per equity partner (PEP) rise 3% to $2m (£1.56m) in 2017, while A&O posted PEP of £1.64m for 2017-18. A&O added £54m to its top line during the year to reach £1.57bn, while O'Melveny grew revenues by 1.7% to reach $738m (£576m).
A&O declined to comment. A spokesperson for O'Melveny said: "We do not comment on gossip or market speculation regarding the firm."
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