July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges

said Tuesday it is opening new offices in Los Angeles and San

Francisco with a pair of private equity dealmakers from rival

Latham & Watkins.

Tana Ryan is joining the firm as managing partner of its

new Los Angeles office, while Navneeta Rekhi joins as a partner

in Weil's new San Francisco office, the firm said.

Kyle Krpata, who co-chairs Weil's U.S. private equity group,

said expanding the practice also drives growth in related areas

for the firm, like tax, finance and executive compensation.

A Latham spokesperson did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Rekhi co-led the Latham team that advised Arcline Investment

Management in its $1.29 billion take-private acquisition of

aerospace parts maker Kaman Corp earlier this year. Kaman counts

the U.S. military, planemaker Boeing ( BA ), and defense firms

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and RTX among its customers.

Ryan and Rekhi together led a Latham team that advised

private equity firm H.I.G. Capital in its 2023 acquisition of

supply-chain company Ascent Global Logistics.

Krpata said there is some overlap between the firm's clients

and Ryan and Rekhi's. "We are excited about the fact that they

are bringing new private equity sponsor relationships to the

firm on Day 1," he said.

Weil, a 1,100-lawyer firm founded in New York, has had an

office in Silicon Valley since 1991. Outside the United States,

it has offices in Belgium, China, France, Germany and the United

Kingdom.

Weil's move to expand on the U.S. West Coast comes four

months after the firm said it was retrenching in China following

the closure of its Beijing office last year.

The firm said in March it was considering closing its

Shanghai office and consolidating its Asia operations in Hong

Kong. A Weil spokesperson did not immediately respond to a

request for comment on its Asia plans.