White & Case and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have lined up on the €1.5bn (£1.25bn) merger of Russian dairy company Unimilk with the local arm of French foods company Danone.

Freshfields took the lead for Danone, which last week agreed a joint venture with Unimilk, the second biggest dairy brand in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The team was lead by Paris corporate partner Antoine Vignial.

White & Case meanwhile advised the shareholders of Unimilk, including Meridian Capital, led by corporate partners Ashley Ballard in London and Eric Michailov in Moscow.

The deal will give Danone control over 57.5% of the joint venture, which will be achieved through a cash purchase of Unimilk shares plus the contribution by Danone of various assets. The combined companies are expected to generate annual sales of €1.5 billion.

Ballard said: "This merger shows that the corporate environment in developing regions such as Eastern Europe is increasingly active, even if the UK M&A market following the global recession remains quieter in comparison."

White & Case worked alongside local counsel from Burchills in Russia, Sayenko Kharenko in Ukraine, Sorainen in Belarus and Antis Triantafyllides in Cyprus.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners also acted for Danone on local issues.

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