Linklaters’ now decade-long effort to carve a credible position in the private equity market has been dealt a serious blow as co-heads Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle leave to join White & Case.
The long-term friends, having started their careers together at Eversheds, had to build the Magic Circle firm’s private equity practice largely from scratch after the departure of Graham White and Raymond McKeeve in 2006 for Kirkland & Ellis.
Youle, who joined the firm in 2001 from SJ Berwin (becoming a partner in 2006), and Bagshaw, who moved across from Clifford Chance in 2007, are credited with building a dedicated team of lawyers whose buyout expertise is supplemented by strong banking, restructuring and high-yield capabilities.
But while the pair have pushed the private equity practice comfortably into the mid-market on the back of clients including HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity, many feel it has yet to make enough ground with leading sponsor clients.
News of Bagshaw and Youle’s departure caused a stir in the private equity market but came as little surprise, as the pair had previously been linked to rival firms, including most recently Ropes & Gray and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. It was these discussions that brought their future at Linklaters to a head in the form of an internal ultimatum.
Meanwhile at White & Case, which also recently hired Kirkland & Ellis private equity partner Ross Allardice, head of global M&A John Reiss commented: ‘As the European economy continues its recovery, private equity in Europe will see increasing opportunities. The addition of these talented individuals will allow us to capitalise on these opportunities.’
In a statement, Linklaters, which last month relocated Stockholm-based corporate partner Roger Johnson to London and appointed Nick Rees as private equity head, added: ‘Linklaters has considerable strength in depth in its global private equity team and dual strength in both private equity and banking. We remain committed to providing our clients with excellent service in this area.’