DLA Piper has hired King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin (KWMSJB) City private equity partner Tim Wright, whose resignation from the partnership was announced internally late yesterday (7 May).
Wright, a former Clifford Chance (CC) partner, specialises in a variety of private company transactions including sales, purchases, equity arrangements and joint ventures.
He has acted for private equity houses such as Duke Street on the sale this year of its controlling stake in leading UK debt purchaser, Marlin Financial Group, to Cabot Credit Management in a deal which values the company at £295m. Other deals for Duke Street include the sale in 2012 of specialist engineering group Deloro Stellite, and in the same year he advised TDR Capital and VPS on the acquisition of SitexOrbis.
Wright joined SJ Berwin in 2004 from CC, where he became a partner in 2001.
Bob Bishop, UK head of corporate at DLA Piper, said: ‘Private equity has long been a key pillar of our corporate offering. With signs that the PE market has turned a corner, we’re delighted to welcome a lawyer of Tim’s calibre and experience in this space.’
DLA last year targeted King & Wood Mallesons for a number of hires, taking a group of five finance and projects lawyers in January 2013 led by partner Carolyn Dong.
KWMSJB, meanwhile, saw a reshuffle in its corporate team at the end of last year, when corporate head Steven Davis stepped down after seven years in the position. He was succeeded by partners Michael Goldberg and Richard Lever as co-heads of the practice group.
A spokesperson for KWMSJB confirmed that Wright was leaving, commenting: ‘We wish him every success for the future.’
david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk