Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has secured a lead role on China's Zhejiang Geely Holding's $1.8bn (£1.2bn) acquisition of Volvo from Ford Motor Company.

The deal, which marks the first time a Chinese company has taken over a leading foreign carmaker, will give the loss-making Volvo brand an opportunity to turn its fortunes around.

Ford initially acquired Volvo for $6.5bn (£4.3bn) in 1999 but has been moving to divest itself of its European luxury brands following the £1bn sale in 2008 of Jaguar Land Rover to Tata Motors and the sale of Aston Martin the previous year.

Freshfields advised Geely, running a team across five of its offices led by London corporate partner Chris Bown.

The firm's team included London intellectual property partner Avril Martindale, Beijing-based corporate partner Jack Wang, Hong Kong corporate partner Teresa Ko and US corporate partner Tim Wilkins.

Bown commented: "This is a landmark deal, the largest international automotive acquisition by a privately-owned Chinese company and a shot in the arm for the global automotive market."

Swedish practice Cederquist provided local law advice to Geely with corporate partner Peter Wirell leading the team.

Hogan & Hartson was instructed by long-time client Ford with a team headed up by New York-based corporate partner and European chair of corporate, securities, and finance, Bill Curtin. A team from Mannheimer Swartling provided Swedish advice.