US firm Hogan & Hartson has remained quiet on whether it might use a tie-up with City firm Lovells to access external capital in the future, following reports this week of a merger between the two firms.

The merger could potentially give Hogan & Hartson access to external capital once the UK’s Legal Services Act 2007 is fully implemented in 2011. By then, the UK division of the merged firm would be able to sell equity stakes to investors, or even float on the stock market. Both firms declined to comment on the potential for such an arrangement.

Last week, Lovells and Hogan & Hartson were reported to have begun merger talks to consider creating one of the 10 biggest firms in the world with combined revenues of more than £1.1bn. A merger of Lovells, which in 2008/09 posted revenues of £531m, and Hogan & Hartson, which posted revenues of $922m (£585m) last year, would create a transatlantic firm of around 2,500 lawyers.

Both firms declined to confirm or deny that merger discussions were taking place. A spokesman for Lovells said: ‘It is no secret that any significant expansion beyond [our existing services in the US] would require a major strategic move… we have recently been taking a closer look at market developments and the opportunities that we believe are available to us. Beyond that, we are not in a position to comment.’

A spokesman for Hogan & Hartson said: ‘We don’t comment one way or the other on particular initiatives unless we have something definitive to report.’