Norton Rose has landed a role on Nestle's $2.5bn (£1.3bn) acquisition of the nutrition arm of pharmaceuticals giant Novartis.

The instruction is the firm's biggest-ever for the client and comes after it was appointed to Nestle's panel for European M&A in 2003.

London corporate partner Campbell Steedman led the Norton Rose team for Nestle. The firm was first instructed on the deal in October 2005. Steedman was assisted by London corporate partner Phil Mellor and employment partner Cornelia Marquardt.