Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has bagged a plum role advising Xstrata on its £9.6bn unsolicited bid for Canadian mining giant Falconbridge as the magic circle firm continues its strong run of high-profile M&A mandates.

Freshfields scooped the role earlier this month on the back of a longstanding relationship with the UK-listed Swiss mining group after advising last year on its initial acquisition of a 20% stake in the company, which made Xstrata its largest shareholder.