Thomson Wilks continues ongoing growth with acquisition of M&A expert Roux van der Merwe

Leading South African corporate and M&A lawyer Roux van der Merwe has himself been acquired this month, as he’s set to merge his expertise with a fast-growing team of talented and experienced lawyers at innovative firm Thomson Wilks. 

“I am very pleased to announce that Roux van der Merwe has joined Thomson Wilks,” shared CEO Stephen Thomson last week. “He is a talented and experienced corporate lawyer who has worked on some of South Africa’s major M&A transactions. He also advises financial institutions, asset managers and private equity funds on corporate restructures, BEE transactions and capital market matters.”

The move reflects the ongoing growth trajectory of Thomson Wilks and the firm’s commitment to recruiting top quality attorneys. As reported by Africa Legal, in January the firm added to its already ‘formidable team’ by merging with the former Durban office of global firm Eversheds Sutherland, allowing the forward-looking firm to deliver a broader, more comprehensive offering to clients in KwaZulu-Natal. 

A law and economics graduate of the Rand Afrikaans University (now known as the University of Johannesburg) admitted to the South African bar in 2001, Roux was previously a Director at Cliffe Dekker Hoffmeyr for more than a decade, and most recently was a corporate commercial partner at Schindlers Attorneys. 

His areas of expertise include structuring, negotiating and implementing M&As, including related financing, black economic empowerment transactions, joint ventures, company formations, listings, delistings and restructures, share incentive schemes, capital markets, vendor financing and advising on public and private enterprise transactions in general. Roux has extensive experience in cross-border private equity transactions in the financial services industry, as well as the information technology and property industries. 

With a pioneering business model and commitment to providing world-class legal services at scale, Thomson Wilks has added significant legal talent over the past year. Its new Durban office includes directors Andrew Turner, with deep experience in M&A, private equity, and Africa-focused transactions; commercial litigator and ADR expert Donovan Avenant; Lara Jansen van Rensburg, who advises clients on structuring, negotiating, and implementing complex deals; and Glynn Kent, who has a focused practice in commercial litigation, environmental, and administrative law, strongly aligned with regulatory, sustainability, and ESG-related matters.

In December, it scooped up mining, health and safety, ESG and corporate governance expert Stephen Thibedi Nthite, who has three decades of experience, including at the Constitutional Court and top-level governance roles in both the public and private sectors, as a Senior Consultant. Earlier in 2025 it built its medico-legal expertise with the hiring of Director Julia Penn and associate Justine Paries, and further bolstered its top-level talent with insolvency specialist Zanele Macalagh joining as a Director in its Sandton office.

Thomson Wilks has an exclusive alliance with the London-based DWF Group, a leading global provider of integrated legal and business services, and is also committed to developing the next generation of legal talent through dedicated mentorship. The new Durban office also added three associates and three candidate attorneys, and following the addition of Roux this month, yesterday the firm also announced that Sanele Sinakho Tsotetsi had joined the firm as a Candidate Attorney.