Quindell Share News (QPP)

Quindell confirmed speculation that it is in talks with Slater & Gordon regarding a possible takeover from the Australian law firm for its legal services business, but denied an offer had been made.According to an article published on the Sunday Times, Quindell is due to recommend a £640m cash offer for its subsidiary.Quindell confirmed a "number of deal structures" had been discussed with Slater & Gordon "including one with an up front value of £640m and a share of receipts from the settlement of noise-induced hearing loss cases".But a spokeswoman for the insurance outsourcer stipulated that this did not mean an offer had been made for the company.The AIM-listed company said, however, "there can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to any offer, or the disposal of, the professional services division".One of the world's largest processors of personal injury legal claims, Melbourne-headquartered SGH is a current client of Quindell's through several of its personal injury business operations in the UK.As Quindell generates a major proportion of its outsourcing earnings from its legal and health services businesses, it has cited the Australian firm as one of its closest peers.The AIM-listed group has been hit with several controversies in the last year, most recently in November when founder Robert Terry was eased off the board after his share dealings were called into question.Last April the company was dismissed by New York analysts Gotham City Research as "a country club built on quicksand", which saw Quindell's market capitalisation more than halve from £2.5bn to less than £800m. Calling this a "co-ordinated shorting attack", Quindell took to the courts and won, with Gotham failing to provide either acknowledgement or a defence against the libel proceedings calling.