A duo of US law firms has taken lead roles on a €1.7bn (£1.5bn) deal that will form a new worldwide food packaging group.

The deal, which was financed in the high-yield bond market, handed roles to both Shearman & Sterling and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

It saw Dublin-headquartered Ardagh Glass buy Dutch metal packaging company Impress Cooperative from private equity house Doughty Hanson.

Under the terms of the deal, Ardagh will offer the €1.7bn (£1.5bn) in secured and unsecured notes in both euros and US dollars in order to fund the acquisition.

Shearman took the largest role on the transaction, advising the buyer on M&A and financing conditions.

The team included London finance partners Anthony Ward (pictured) and Ward McKimm, as well as M&A partner George Karafotias. Skadden advised Doughty Hanson on the sale, while Ardagh used Citigroup as financial adviser, and the seller turned to JP Morgan and Credit Suisse.

With the addition of Impress, which currently has sales of around €1.8bn (£1.6bn) and employs 7,500 people, the new business will operate 81 facilities with market positions in 24 countries, employing 14,000 people. The combined company will trade as Ardagh Packaging Group.

Doughty Hanson originally created Impress in 1997 through the merger of the metal packaging operations of Pechiney, a France-based producer and converter of aluminium, and Schmalbach Lubeca, a Germany-based company principally engaged in packaging food, beverage and other consumer goods.