Private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners agreed to acquire Murgitroyd Group, an international practice of intellectual property attorneys headquartered in Glasgow, specialising in patents, trade marks, designs and copyrights, for £66m ($85m). "Almost 20 years since Murgitroyd Shares were admitted to trading on AIM, the Board of Murgitroyd is pleased to have reached agreement on an offer which provides an opportunity to engineer an orderly ownership transition for all shareholders in the Murgitroyd Group and the certainty of an immediate cash return which fairly reflects the near term prospects for the group. Sovereign's evident commitment to support the Murgitroyd Group as it continues to invest to build scale in a fast-changing market and the particular importance attached by them to the skills and experience of the Murgitroyd Group employees and management team were key factors in the Murgitroyd Directors' considerations. I am delighted to confirm that the Board intends unanimously to recommend the offer to shareholders," Ian Murgitroyd, Chairman of Murgitroyd.