Elite New York firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz have bagged lead roles advising on the $26bn (£14bn) bid for leisure group Harrah’s Entertainment by private equity duo Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management.

Cleary is advising long-term client Texas Pacific, while Wachtell is acting on behalf of Apollo. Harrah’s, the world’s largest casino operator, is understood to have instructed top 50 US firm Kaye Scholer on the deal.