Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken the lead roles on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s £1.4bn takeover of the London Metal Exchange (LME).

The A&O team is led by London corporate partner Alistair Asher, the head of the firm’s financial services group, and counsel Ben Koehne, with City partner Damian Carolan handling regulatory advice.