RAC has drafted in Herbert Smith ahead of its regular advisers to act on its £1.1bn buy-out by UK insurance giant Aviva, in a deal announced today (9 March).

Herbert Smith’s appointment is thought to be its first major instruction from the client and comes as a snub to RAC’s roster of regular adviser firms, which includes DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Wragge & Co, Pinsent Masons and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP).