Matthew Arnold & Baldwin’s banking and finance group is leaving the firm for Dentons, The Lawyer understands.

Last month, The Lawyer revealed that the Watford and London-based Matthew Arnold & Baldwin (MAB) had entered into merger talks with Dentons.

Now it has emerged MAB’s banking and finance practice could break off from the rest of the firm, with nine partners understood to be moving to Dentons’ London office.

Dentons could gain the team’s longstanding relationship with Barclays through the mass hire.

A source close to MAB said that rifts between the banking and finance practice and the rest of the firm could be behind the departures.

Following the exits, MAB’s partner headcount would drop from 23 to 14. It is not known how many associates or support staff will join them in the move.

Dentons entered into non-disclosure agreements with 21 firms worldwide to negotiate potential future mergers earlier this year. 

The 80-lawyer firm posted a 13.6 per cent drop in revenue from £19.1m to £16.8m during the 2014/15 financial year, with net profit also taking a hit from £5m to £3.3m. 

These figures are in contrast to the 2012/13 financial year when turnover stood at £19.3m. Average profit per equity partner (PEP) rocketed by 57 per cent from £390,000 to £616,000 that year, but dropped to £275,000 two years later.

The firm reported a rise in both revenue and profit for its UK, Middle East and Africa (UKMEA) operations for the 2014/15 financial year, with PEP up by 23 per cent to £502,000.

Dentons’ merger with Dacheng, which will be finalised next year, has made it largest law firm in the world by headcount. Its merger with McKenna Long & Aldridge three months later put headcount at 6,600 lawyers worldwide with more than 1,100 of them based in the US.

Dentons said in a statement to The Lawyer: ”Like every major law firm we are constantly evaluating the market for opportunities to further enhance our business for the benefit of our clients.

”We do not, however, make any comment on such discussions until they are complete to protect the privacy of those involved and to ensure our clients are the first to be informed of any enhancement to our firm.”