Allen & Overy (A&O) has bagged a major role opposite Slaughter and May advising Alliance UniChem on its £7bn merger with Boots.

Corporate partner Alan Paul is leading A&O's team for Alliance UniChem, one of the magic circle firm's biggest M&A deals of recent years.

Slaughters Boots contact partner Anthony Newhouse is advising Boots, assisted by corporate partner Martin Hattrell and competition partner Claire Jeffs.

The merger, which was announced today (3 October), will create one of Europe's largest pharmaceuticals retailers, named Alliance Boots, with 2,600 stores across the UK.

The deal is the latest in line of work Slaughters has handled for Boots. Last month it emerged that the magic circle firm is advising the UK chain on Bayer's expected £1.4bn bid for the Boots Healthcare International division.