Walkers and Mourant du Feu & Jeune, two of the largest offshore law firms, are in merger discussions despite Walkers ditching the planned sell off of its highly profitable services arm, Walkers SPV, to Mourant. The proposed sale would have realised a pay out for Walkers’ equity partners, but would have significantly devalued the rest of the firm. According to Legal Week, the only deal left on the table is a straight merger that would create a 300-lawyer firm spread across eight jurisdictions, including the much-sought-after financial hubs of Dubai, Hong Kong, London and New York. Walkers managing partner Grant Stein confirmed that the Cayman-headquartered firm has held several "exploratory" meetings with Jersey-based Mourant since the spring. Both firms have only recently completed smaller mergers of their own. Walkers merged with Crills Advocates last July to obtain a base in Jersey, while Mourant is still bedding down this year’s merger with Cayman-based Quin & Hampson. Several of the firms' larger rivals are understood to have held strategic talks since rumours of the merger talks began in the summer.