UPDATE 1-Begbies Traynor to form JV with Mesirow Financial unit

* Says JV to be called BTG Mesirow Financial Consulting * Says JV to become one of the largest insolvency firms (Adds details)

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Begbies Traynor (BEG.L), which helps salvage struggling companies, said on Thursday it would form a joint venture with a unit of Chicago-based diversified financial services firm Mesirow Financial.

The joint venture, BTG Mesirow Financial Consulting, would become one of the largest insolvency and restructuring practitioners in the world, Begbies said in a statement.

"MFC provides a range of services that fits closely with our own offering, and this joint venture will give us an excellent opportunity to raise our profile in the commercially important U.S. market," Begbies executive Chairman Ric Traynor said in a statement.

In September, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) was in talks to buy a unit of Mesirow Financial in a bid to expand in the hedge fund industry.

Begbies shares closed at 108.0 pence on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)