Top European firms Hengeler Mueller and Uria & Menendez have won leading roles on the e1.69bn (£1.06bn) cross-border sale of seven of Siemens' businesses to US private equity house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR).

The acquisition saw KKR buy Mannesmann Plastics Machinery; gas spring producers Stabilus; harbour crane unit Gottwald; Siemens' Power Transmission and Distribution Group; the ceramics division of Power Generation Group; and Network Systems.

The purchase was initially announced in July, but received final approval last month and comes as the engineering and electronics group discards the unwanted operations acquired from its takeover of Germany's Mannesmann Atecs last year.

Hengeler provided German advice on the deal for KKR through partner Peter Weyland, with the London office of Allen & Overy acting on UK issues, under partners Tony Keal and Andrew Bamber.

Clifford Chance partner Daniela Weber-Rey represented Siemens from the firm's Frankfurt branch.

The disposals also saw Uria's Madrid base and Valencia branch combine with its associated offices in Sao Paulo, Mexico and Buenos Aires to advise KKR on the restructuring of two additional Siemens' divisions: Crane & Components and Siemens Metering.

The Uria team was led by Madrid partner Christian Hoedl and Valencia-based Jorge Marti.

The businesses were put into a Luxembourg-based holding company, Demag Holding, of which KKR owns 81% and Siemens retains a 19% stake.

The deal is the latest in a wave of major US-backed private equity deals to hit the European market this year and comes after KKR's e5bn (£3.15bn) bid for French electrical company Legrand.

Commenting on the deal, Hoedl told Legal Week: "Private equity purely for the Spanish market is generally strong and attracting interest for medium to large investments."

Weber-Rey added: "Apart from the legal aspects of the transaction, the organisation of the disclosure with a core team of more than 20 lawyers constituted a major challenge.

The successful outcome would not have been possible without the excellent co-operation between the different teams."