Linklaters has won a role on PepsiCo's $3.8bn (£2.4bn) acquisition of a two-thirds stake in Moscow-based food and drink company Wimm-Bill-Dann, reports The Am Law Daily.

John Goodwin, the managing partner of Linklaters's Moscow office, is serving as Russian corporate counsel to Pepsi on the deal, one of the largest ever by a US company in Russia.

The magic circle firm's team also includes corporate partner Denis Uvarov, banking partner Dmitry Suschev and capital markets partner Jasper Evans.

Igor Panshensky, a corporate and antitrust partner in Dechert's Moscow office, is serving as regulatory counsel to Pepsi in Russia.

Meanwhile, Davis Polk & Wardwell global M&A chief George Bason is leading a team from the US firm advising Pepsi.

Bason also headed up a Davis Polk team advising Pepsi in April 2009 when it made a $6bn (£3.8bn) cash-and-stock offer for control of its two biggest bottlers, PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Group, eventually upping the offer to $7.8bn (£5bn) to complete the transaction later that summer.

Christopher Allen, a corporate partner in the Moscow office of Latham & Watkins, led a team from the firm advising Wimm-Bill-Dann alongside capital markets co-chair Alexander Cohen and global M&A co-chair Adel Aslani-Far.

Completion of the deal requires Russian regulatory approval, which is expected to take between two and four months. Should the deal be approved, Russian law calls for Pepsi to buy up Wimm-Bill-Dann's remaining shares, which would push the total transaction value to $5.8bn (£3.7bn).

Pepsi's move follows Coca-Cola's acquisition of Russian juice maker Nidan earlier this year.

The Am Law Daily is a US affiliate title of Legal Week.