Clifford Chance (CC), SJ Berwin and Mayer Brown have advised on Caterpillar's €580m (£517m) acquisition of a German engine manufacturing company from 3i Group, reports the Am Law Daily.

Caterpillar, the world's largest construction company, has agreed to acquire MWM Holding from UK private equity firm 3i after being outbid for the company three years ago when 3i paid £360m for MWM.

CC advised 3i on the deal, with Kerstin Kopp, a corporate partner in the magic circle firm's Frankfurt office, leading the team.

3i has a longstanding client relationship with CC, and instructed the magic circle firm this July on the £450m sale of its Inspectorate unit to French health and safety agency Bureau Veritas.

3i's group in-house legal counsel is Kevin Dunn, who joined the private equity giant in November 2007 from General Electric.

SJ Berwin provided tax counsel to the private equity firm, with German private equity and M&A partner Gerald Thomas leading the firm's team.

Meanwhile, Mayer Brown advised Caterpillar, fiedling a team from the firm's Cologne office led by corporate partner Christof Gaudig. The firm has a substantial presence in Germany, having opened offices in Berlin and Cologne in the early 1990s and picked up a Frankfurt office through a merger with German firm Gaedertz Rechtsanwaelte in 2001.

Mayer Brown began representing Caterpillar in 2004. Since then, the firm has handled several major deals for the company, including its £520m acquisition in June of locomotive manufacturer Electro-Motive Diesel.

The Am Law Daily is a blog on law.com, Legal Week's US affiliate title.