Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Cravath Swaine & Moore have scooped the lead roles on the largest US M&A deal of year, the $70bn (£36.3bn) telecoms merger between Sprint and Nextel Communications.

The merger was formally announced this morning (15 December) after intense speculation and sees the communications companies combine to form a giant with an equity value of $70bn.