Gordon Dadds, one of the first London-listed law firms, has recently completed its acquisition of shipping specialist Ince & Co’s mainland China and UK operations.

The merger appears somewhat scaled back from what was originally anticipated. Gordon Dadds had earlier been in talks to acquire all of Ince, according to reports.

Under the deal, which includes Ince’s Shanghai and Beijing practices and its UK arm, the firm will trade under the moniker Ince Gordon Dadds. 

Ince’s other international offices, including those in Singapore and Hong Kong, have not been acquired. These will operate independently under a network sharing arrangement, and continue to trade as Ince & Co.

Gordon Dadds has its own office in Hong Kong, which opened in July last year.

News of the merger, which first made waves in late 2018, came at a time when Ince made significant redundancies in its London office and reportedly put a portion of its office space up for sublet.

In a media release supplied to Asian Legal Business, Adrian Biles, the chief executive of Gordon Dadds Group, said the deal will help to increase the firm’s capacity and breadth of service across practice areas and geography.

Apart from its Asian and UK offices, Ince has outposts in Germany, Greece and the United Arab Emirates. 

The firms have been approached for comment.

More to follow

Gordon Dadds：收购英士业务范围含中国大陆，不包括香港地区

Gordon Dadds是英国首批上市的律师事务所之一，近期完成了对海商法领域最知名的律所之一——英国英士律师事务所在中国大陆和英国的业务收购。

相较预期，此次收购规模似乎有所减小。据相关报道，Gordon Dadds之前计划全部收购英国英士律师事务所。

在该协议下，英国英士律师事务所的北京代表处、上海代表处及其英国办公室，均统一以Ince Gordon Dadds的名义开展业务。

英国英士律师事务所在全球其他地区的办公室，比如新加坡和香港，则未在此次收购之列，而将在全球共享网络的协作下独立运作，并继续以Ince & Co的名义开展业务。

Gordon Dadds去年7月在香港开设了办事处。

2018年年底该收购消息一出，引起了很大轰动，当时正值英国英士律师事务所伦敦办公室进行大规模裁员。有消息称，部分办公空间将予以转租。

Gordon Dadds集团首席执行官Adrian Biles在一份提供给《亚洲法律杂志》的新闻稿中称，此次交易将拓宽事务所业务领域的涵盖面、提升整体专业水准，并将极大扩展法律服务的辐射区域。

除在亚洲和英国设有办公室，英国英士律师事务所在德国、希腊、阿联酋也设有代表处。

ALB记者已联系两家律所请其置评。

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