Scots giant Dundas & Wilson has scooped a profile-raising lead advisory role opposite Ashurst on the hostile bid by Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust for rival Securities Trust of Scotland (STS).

The unrecommended offer sees Perpetual value regular Dundas client STS at £325m. Announced on 3 March, the bid follows a previous offer from Perpetual that STS rejected last summer.

In recent times Perpetual has dramatically outperformed STS, which is overseen by the Edinburgh-based Martin Currie Investment Management. Perpetual, the investment trust overseen by Invesco Asset Management, operates funds with a total value of around £415m.

The hostile bid is a rare move in the investment trust sector and – with contentious M&A work often going to London firms – will be seen as a boost to Dundas.

Corporate partner Martin Polson leads an Edinburgh-based team for Dundas, alongside corporate partner and investment trust specialist Wendy Colquhoun, and corporate associate Neil MacLennan. Leading Ashurst's team is perpetual adviser and former head of corporate Chris Ashworth. Corporate associate Simon Baskerville assists.

Polson said: "We have done plenty of corporate activity [for the client] but a hostile bid in the investment trust sector is unusual and these are big funds."