A trio of US firms have taken roles on Liberty Global's $4bn (£2.5bn) sell-off of its minority stake in Japan's largest cable company to mobile phone operator KDDI, reports The Am Law Daily.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Japan's KDDI on the acquisition of Liberty's 38% stake in Jupiter Telecommunications, fielding a team led by Tokyo-based partner Mitsuhiro Kamiya.

Latham & Watkins and Colorado's Sherman & Howard served as co-counsel to Liberty, a Colorado-based communications company controlled by billionaire businessman John Malone.

Liberty sold its Jupiter shares at a 65% premium compared to closing prices on Friday, according to The New York Times.

The deal gives KDDI access to a broader customer base and continues the company's move away from fibre networks and toward cable.

Latham was on the opposite side of the table from Liberty just two months ago on its purchase of German company Unitymedia. Latham represented Unitymedia on that deal, while Liberty was advised on deal finance by a team from Ropes & Gray's newly-launched City practice led by high-profile White & Case hire Mike Goetz.

The Am Law Daily is the website of The American Lawyer, Legal Week's US sister title.