Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance are having the lead roles on state-owned Cinda Asset Management's $8.8 billion acquisition of Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd. from Bank of China Ltd.

Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Cinda Financial Holdings Co. Ltd., Cinda will acquire Nanyang Commercial Bank's 42 Hong Kong branches, 11 mainland China branches and one overseas branch in San Francisco. The Hong Kong-based bank has $4.7 billion in net assets as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.

Nanyang Commercial bank was founded in December 1949 in Hong Kong. It has been a subsidiary of Bank of China since 2001. In July, Bank of China announced it would sell Nanyang Commercial Bank the Beijing Financial Assets Exchange. The following month, Cinda emerged as the sole bidder.