Gordon Dadds has agreed a deal to acquire Ince & Co, with the combined firm set to be led by Gordon Dadds managing partner and CEO Adrian Biles.

All of Ince's offices will join the new firm, Ince Gordon Dadds, which will have bases in nine countries and about 100 partners. The firms are aiming to complete the merger by the end of 2018.

The agreement follows a vote on the deal at Ince held last week. It is understood the firm required a 75% threshold for the vote to go through.

Last year, Gordon Dadds listed on AIM via a reverse takeover of marketing company Work Group, and the acquisition will see the firm acquire all Ince equity partners' interests.

In a statement announcing the deal, the firms said that "the consideration for the acquisition would equate to a percentage of the turnover generated by the equity partners of Ince & Co International LLP over the three years from completion", which is estimated to amount to £34m.

Gordon Dadds will also issue Ince members up to three million options to subscribe for ordinary shares in the firm at 140p, and will settle the capital and current account balances of about £9.1m due to Ince partners.

Biles, who will lead the firm with support from Ince chairman Peter Rogan, said: "Ince is a highly successful and well-respected business with an iconic brand, and I will be delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the group.

"The merger will build upon the complementary strengths of the two firms in terms of industry expertise and range of services. Our management model will also allow Ince's partners and fee earners to focus even more on providing market-leading legal advice to a stellar client base.

Rogan added: "This is an exciting day for us at Ince, with this cutting-edge deal being very much in line with our long-established strategy. I'm proud that the Ince name will continue and am very excited to be moving forward together as part of this innovative new structure, with access to new capital allowing us to gain greater competitive advantage in the market."

The firms announced that they were in merger talks last month following months of speculation around Ince, which has in recent years discussed a tie-up with a number of other firms, including Hill Dickinson and Watson Farley & Williams.

Ince has gone through a period of upheaval in recent years, including a restructuring of its partnership and a review of its partner remuneration model, while earlier this year it cut 25 business services positions and seven fee-earning roles.

Following Gateley's landmark listing in 2015, Gordon Dadds is one of four UK law firms to have listed on AIM, alongside Keystone Law, Rosenblatt and Knights. Since then, DWF has also confirmed that it is considering an IPO, in what would be the largest UK law firm listing to date.