Hogan Lovells and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken the top roles on Ford Motor Company's sale of Volvo to a Chinese car manufacturer, reports The Blog of Legal Times.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has agreed to pay $1.5bn (£950m) for Volvo in a deal that marks the first time a private Chinese company has taken over a foreign automaker.

A team of Freshfields lawyers led by M&A partner Chris Bown and intellectual property partner Avril Martindale in London advised Geely on the deal.

Ford is a longstanding client of both Hogan & Hartson and Lovells, the firms that concluded their their transatlantic merger in May.

Lawyers in 13 of Hogan Lovells' offices handled a range of issues related to the deal. Washington-based partner William Curtin led the team, which comprised lawyers from the firm's New York, Baltimore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, and Shanghai offices.

In a statement, Curtin said, "We are extremely proud to have had the opportunity to advise our longstanding client, Ford Motor Company, on this important matter. We are pleased to have brought the extensive cross-border resources of our global legal practice to this complex and multi-jurisdictional transaction."

In Washington, partners Carin Carithers, Latane Montague, Daniel Davidson, and Shelly McGee worked on aspects of the deal involving employee benefits, environmental and automotive regulations, taxes, and intellectual property.

Four partners in Hogan's Nothern Virginia office advised Ford on corporate, intellectual property, product development, and antitrust issues.

For Ford, the deal marks the completion of the auto company's strategy to unload luxury European brands and renew its focus on its core products. The deal required approval by authorities in 12 countries.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.