Slaughter and May, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Hogan Lovells are among a clutch of firms to have won mandates on GE’s €12.4bn (£10.2bn) bid for the energy assets of Alstom.

The deal, which has come under intense scrutiny from the French government, was this week “positively received” by the Alstom board. Even if it goes ahead, GE said it does not expect the deal to close this calendar year.