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March 20, 2018

Chambers & Partners Sold to Private Equity Firm

Chambers & Partners has been sold to a buyout group led by the legal publishing entrepreneur Mark Wyatt, and backed by the private equity firm, Inflexion – marking the end of 30+ year period in which the company has been held solely by founder Michael Chambers.

In what is a likely to be a transformative deal for the company, and for the legal directory and publishing industry, Mark Wyatt will become chief executive officer.

Another key incoming senior figure is chairman Steve Halbert, a former head of M&A at KPMG, who currently chairs several companies, including Alcumus, a provider of risk management and certification services.

Inflexion partner Mark Williams, who helped to put the Chambers deal together (and who worked on the Alcumus buyout), is also likely to be an influential part of the new management team in his role as non-executive director.

Mark Wyatt originally joined Chambers & Partners in 2014 as managing director, and spent around a year at the company, before moving on to other business interests, including chairing MiniSoft, a US-based company that provides collection software to law firms.

It looked at the time like he was being groomed to take over the reins, but it appears that a deal was not forthcoming – until now.

Speaking to Mark Wyatt on the phone, he said that the aim now is to invest substantially in Chambers, focusing primarily on technology.

Wyatt has been one of the most prolific figures in the UK legal publishing scene over the last 20 years.

He started at The Lawyer in the 1990s, before launching Legal Week in 1997, which was then sold to Incisive Media in 2005.

More recently he founded one of the first online consumer lawyer directories, takelegaladvice.com, and the legal news site, Global Legal Post.

Addleshaw Goddard advised Inflexion, while Chambers retained Slaughter and May.

Meanwhile Inflexion has underlined its status as one of the most active midmarket buyout funds, with reports suggesting that it hopes to raise £2 billion for UK deals in 2018.

2018 has got off to roaring start deal wise in the legal directories and media space, with the Chambers buyout coming on the heels of the sale of Law Business Research to private equity firm Leichtman Capital Partners, and the sale of US lawyer directory giant Avvo to Martindale-Hubbell owner, Internet Brands.

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Filed Under: Legal Awards, Legal Directories, Legal Events, Legal Marketing, Legal Media, Legal Publishing, Legal Surveys Tagged With: Chambers & Partners

By Lloyd Pearson

Legal directories consultant serving law firms worldwide.

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  1. New Chambers Boss Outlines Vision – Pearson Communications says:
    May 10, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    […] with the new chief executive of Chambers & Partners, Mark Wyatt, after the company was recently acquired by a private equity […]

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  2. Q+A With Best Lawyers CEO Following Recent Acquisition – Pearson Communications says:
    May 16, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    […] directories? Levine Leichtman bought Law Business Research and now Best Lawyers. Inflexion just invested in Chambers & Partners. And you have Avvo joining up with Internet Brands, adding to the deal activity in the sector. […]

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  3. LBR & Globe Merge in Private Equity-Backed Legal Media Deal – Pearson Communications says:
    July 6, 2018 at 1:06 am

    […] deal volume, with other standout deals including Avvo’s acquisition by Internet Brands and the acquisition of Chambers & Partners by Inflexion. That’s just the first half of 2018. I wonder what the second half will bring? Kirkland & […]

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  4. What’s Happened at Chambers This Year? – Pearson Communications says:
    November 13, 2018 at 12:33 pm

    […] for Chambers & Partners, with the exit of founder Michael Chambers, a new management team, private equity investment, a move to a new office, and a new-look […]

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  5. Legal Directories & Media: 2018 Review – Pearson Communications says:
    December 20, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    […] The question of if and when Michael Chambers would ever sell has been discussed for years, but it happened in Spring 2018 with private equity firm Inflexion coming in with a new management team. […]

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  6. Should Law Firms Pay for Legal Directory Profiles? – Pearson Communications says:
    March 4, 2019 at 3:51 pm

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  7. Chambers & Partners Acquires Top 3 Legal – Pearson Communications says:
    June 15, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    […] deal hands Chambers, acquired by private equity investors in 2018, one of the most promising new-generation legal directories, and one that was built from […]

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  8. New Private Equity Firm Comes in for Best Lawyers – Pearson Communications says:
    April 8, 2022 at 1:27 pm

    […] & Partners was taken over by Inflexion in the same […]

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