Magic circle duo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Link-laters have nudged aside local opposition to secure lead roles on one of the largest-ever initial public offerings (IPOs) in Spain – the E4bn (£2.8bn) float of Spanish bank La Caixa’s investment arm.

Freshfields advised the bank on the listing of Criteria CaixaCorp, which was listed earlier this month, marking one of the first times a Spanish savings bank has raised capital through an IPO.