Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Ashurst have taken lead roles on engineering giant ABB's £864m bid for FTSE 250 power company Chloride Group.

Freshfields corporate partners Barry O'Brien and Piers Prichard Jones are leading the firm's team advising ABB on the offer, which will potentially set off a bidding war with US manufacturing company Emerson Electric, whose 275p per share offer was rejected two weeks ago.

Employment and pensions advice is being provided by partners Kathleen Healy and David Pollard, while Berlin-based partner Helmut Bergmann is advising on antitrust issues.

Freshfields is working alongside ABB's in-house legal team, which is led by general counsel Diane de Saint Victor, assisted by M&A chief counsel Natascia Rubinic.

Meanwhile, Ashurst is advising Chloride with a team led by head of corporate Adrian Clark.

Clark (pictured) commented: "It is good to work on a straightforward M&A deal in this market. The deal is interesting because there are two parties involved and one can only speculate as to what will happen from here on."

UK top 10 firm Herbert Smith has also taken a role, advising on the cash confirmation for Credit Suisse, ABB's financial adviser and corporate broker.

The acquisition is subject to approval by Chloride shareholders and regulatory authorities.

Since the bid was announced, Chloride's shares have jumped 51.4p to 340p, as investors bet on a counter-offer from Emerson.

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