Sullivan & Cromwell’s Paris office has stolen a march on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer after being called in to help advise Freshfields client Alcan Aluminium on its £2.4bn hostile takeover bid for French rival, The Pechiney Group.

Sullivans is working alongside Linklaters’ Paris office, which is advising Alcan’s financial adviser, Morgan Stanley on the rare hostile takeover bid, which promises to generate a fees bonanza for an array of top international and French firms.