Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is advising e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on a $590 million investment in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu Technology Corp. Ltd.

Alibaba did not disclose the size of the stake is was acquiring in Meizu, which is a much smaller player in the smartphone manufacturing space than rivals Xiaomi Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Lenovo Group Ltd. According to a Reuters report, Meizu increased its phone shipments to 2 million in the last quarter of 2014 from a few hundred thousand in recent years, however it still has less than a 2 percent share of the Chinese market.

The deal will give Alibaba the chance to expand the use of its YunOS mobile operating system in China, while Alibaba's online markets will serve as distribution channels for Meizu's phones and other products.