Weil Gotshal & Manges and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on the €250m (£212.2m) private equity disposal of two European food distribution companies.

South African trading and distribution company Bidvest is to acquire the Czech Republic's Nowaco and Poland's Farutex from funds associated with JP Morgan, and managed by CCMP Capital Advisors, and from Bancroft Private Equity.

The deal sees Weil advising CCMP and Bancroft and Bakers advising Bidvest.

London private equity partner Marco Compagnoni is leading the Weil team advising the buyout houses, with the deal marking the US firm's first significant transaction for CCMP since it was appointed as an adviser around 12 months ago. He was supported by lawyers in London, Warsaw and Prague, including Warsaw private equity partner Rafal Zwierz.

Bakers, meanwhile, scored its first London mandate from Bidvest, with London private equity partner Karen Guch leading a team which also included lawyers in Warsaw and Prague. The firm has previously advised Bidvest from other offices.

Bidvest, which is listed in Johannesburg, has a diverse business with involvement in auto retailing, food distribution and freight services. The latest acquisitions will make it one of the biggest wholesale food distributors to hotels and restaurants in Central and Eastern Europe. The deal is set to close in the third quarter of this year.