New York deal-machine Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Canadian leader Stikeman Elliott have bagged plum roles advising mining giant Alcoa on its $33bn (£16.5bn) hostile bid for rival Alcan.

New York corporate partners David Fox, Margaret Wolff and Neil Stronski are spearheading the Skadden team acting for Alcoa, while Stikeman chairman Pierre Raymond is leading for the Canadian outfit alongside Montreal corporate partners Marc Barbeau and Erik Richer La Fleche.