Linklaters and South African firm Bowman Gilfillan have bagged lead roles on the acquisition by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of a R36.7bn (£2.7bn) stake in South African group Standard Bank.

Linklaters’ team was led in Beijing by M&A partners Celia Lam and Thomas Ng, with senior City corporate partner Charlie Jacobs heading up the team in London.