Professions

Financial services firm Merchant Group has announced plans to merge with investment bank and funds manager Somers & Partners.

Law firms HopgoodGanim Lawyers and Hunt & Humphry will amalgamate from July 1, with the deal designed to boost the combined firm’s capabilities to take advantage of increasing activity in the r

Fairfax Media shares have jumped to a five-week high after the struggling company's board said it was considering an unsolicited $2.2 billion proposal to split up its businesses, while a reduction in television licence fees planned for the budget has boosted listed TV networks.

SPECIAL REPORT: Western Australian stockbrokers and companies raised nearly $1.1 billion in 104 transactions in the March quarter, with gold deals being a major driver of activity, according to new data compiled for the BNiQ Search Engine.

SPECIAL REPORT: The mergers and acquisitions market was eventful in the March quarter, with Chinese and private equity investors to the fore, multiple WA businesses on the block, and a surprise advisory switch on a key takeover.

Top-tier Australian female managers earn $93,000 less than their male counterparts, according to a report released today analysing graduate positions up to senior level management roles.

Shares in WorleyParsons have soared after the engineering group confirmed it had rejected a takeover bid from a Dubai-based professional services group, which has since emerged as a large shareholder.

Attorney-General George Brandis has been asked to make a statement explaining when he first became personally involved in the Bell Group litigation.

Slater & Gordon shares have plumbed fresh depths yet again after the law firm reported a first-half loss of $425 million largely due to another $350 million write-down of its troubled UK business.

Stockbroker and funds manager Euroz has beaten expectations for its interim profit result, which was achieved on the back of an improved performance of its Euroz Securities business and increase in the share prices of its listed investment companies.

A growing market for government consulting, and the rising impact of regulation on business, have prompted mid-tier accounting firm BDO to recruit a former local chief of Australia’s corporate watchdog, Jane Gouvernet.

Private Perth company Wright Prospecting has bolstered its already impressive ranks with the recruitment of top lawyer Peter Wiese, who will guide it through continuing legal disputes with fellow Perth company Hancock Prospecting.

KordaMentha managing partner Cliff Rocke has taken on a new role, joining the Perth office of the advisory firm that is handling the collapse of residential construction group Builton.

Litigation funder IMF Bentham has launched a $US200 million investment vehicle to expand its business in the US.

SPECIAL REPORT: The shake-out in Perth’s legal services market is producing some surprising winners and losers, with one of the best performers being a firm many had expected to wither.

Former Grant Thornton partner Matthew Donnelly and former Perth Airport executive Fiona Lander have brought to seven the number of external recruits to join Deloitte’s Perth partnership in the past five months, offsetting moves by other partners such as Jenn Morris, who has retired from the firm.

A local insurance broker and a data analytics specialist have teamed up to offer grain growers the same kind of cover as energy companies and construction projects.

Sparke Helmore Lawyers will become the 12th largest law firm in Western Australia, according to the BNiQ Seach Engine, after announcing today it has finalised merger plans with local practice Jarman McKenna.

Security services provider Threat Protect Australia is considering a move to acquire assets from east coast player Apollo Security for around $6 million, after tying up an option for its two business units.

Former Special Air Service trooper Scott Houston knows what it takes to successfully transition from the armed forces into the private sector.

Today’s appointment by Independence Group of its first female board member has taken it off the list of ASX200 companies lacking female representation on their boards, although four other Western Australian businesses remain among those still to adopt gender diversity at board level.

Perth-based recruitment consultancy Harrier Human Capital has acquired an executive search organisation based in Sydney for an undisclosed sum.

Experienced business manager and director Ken Perry is bringing a new venture to the Perth market, after becoming a director of Executive Interim Management.

Professional services firm Deloitte has snared its second senior recruit from Accenture's Perth office, hiring Bernadette Cullinane as its national oil and gas practice leader.

The wealth management division of HLB Mann Judd’s Perth office has expanded with the acquisition of local financial advisory firm Sovereign Plus for an undisclosed sum.

An industry representative body wants the state government to make it easier for small businesses to tender for contracts.

The state government has officially hired Broadspectrum to provide security and custodial services to Western Australia from next year, under a $235.8 million contract previously held by Serco.

Waste management companies in Perth are enjoying more demand for their services, but face continuing challenges finding markets.

The head contractor on the Roy Hill project has won two out of five determinations in the latest instalment in its legal dispute with sub-contractor Duro Felguera today, but Samsung C&T was still told to pay Duro $12 million out of more than $60 million that had been sought.

Thousands of aggrieved Slater & Gordon shareholders will be represented in a $250 million-plus class action against the law firm for wrongdoing including allegedly "blindsiding" them with bad news.

Professional services firm Deloitte has bolstered its energy and resources practice in Western Australia with two new appointments.

SPECIAL REPORT: Perth’s major business brokers are adapting their strategies to deal with a changing buyer profile and a general softening of prices.