Baker & McKenzie and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken lead roles on agribusiness giant Cargill's $2.1bn (£1.3bn) acquisition of Dutch company Provimi, reports the Am Law Daily.

The Provimi acquisition follows a string of deals by Minneapolis-based Cargill, which spent $3bn (£1.8bn) on acquisitions in the last financial year.

Cargill turned to Baker & McKenzie for counsel. Bakers put lawyers in 23 offices to work on the transaction, with London-based corporate partner Tim Gee leading the way. Competition partner Luis Gomez and tax partner Alex Chadwick also advised, according to the firm.

Cargill's general counsel is Laura Witte, who stepped into that role in June after almost 26 years in the company's legal department.

To acquire Provimi, Cargill made a binding offer to London-based private equity firm Permira. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is acting as counsel to Permira and Provimi, with a team led by London-based corporate partners Laurie McFadden and Bruce Embley.

The firm has advised Permira on several past matters, including its acquisition of a majority stake in Valentino Fashion Group and the sale of broadcaster SBS for $4.8bn (£2.9bn) both of which occurred in 2007.

Permira bought Provimi in 2007 in a deal that valued the company at $1.5bn (£913m). Assuming the transaction with Cargill goes through, Permira will more than double its original investment.

According to Provimi, the acquisition will allow Cargill – which already operates its own animal-feed business in 26 countries – to increase its global reach into emerging markets in Latin America, Russia, and Asia.

Provimi, which also operates in 26 countries, employs more than 7,000 people and had annual sales of $2.3bn (£1.4bn) in 2010. The company's operating profit rose 20% in the first half of 2011, to $124m (£75m).

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