Linklaters, A&O and Bird & Bird have taken roles on Vodafone’s €7.95bn (£7bn) sale of a 44% stake in French mobile phone operator SFR to Vivendi, reports The Am Law Daily.

Linklaters M&A partners Marc Loy in Paris and Iain Fenn in London are acting for Vodafone. Fenn has advised Vodafone on a number of previous deals, including its hostile takeover of Germany’s Mannesmann in 2000 and the acquisition of a controlling interest in India’s Hutchison Essar in 2007.