Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Travers Smith 
have taken lead roles on Doughty Hanson's £250m acquisition of oil and gas logistics company Asco.

Skadden advised the UK private equity house on the transaction, which will see the group take a majority stake in Asco. The US law firm fielded a London-based team led by corporate partner Allan Murray-Jones.

Travers advised the selling shareholders, which included Phoenix Equity Partners, Indigo Capital and Asco's senior management team, led by chief executive Billy Allan.

The City firm fielded a team led by corporate partner Edmund Reed, who worked alongside senior associate James McClymont to advise the shareholder consortium.

The deal marks the close of a competitive auction process that saw Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advising two rival bidders – Cinven and AEA Investors.

Reed commented: "Having advised Phoenix on its original acquisition of the business in 2006, it is rewarding to have been instructed on its exit from the investment five years later. The competitive auction ran at an incredible speed and all parties were pleased with the outcome."

Asco provides oilfield logistics services, co-ordinating the supply of goods to and from oil rigs and platforms, including the delivery of drilling equipment and food supplies. It is also involved in specialist international logistics and 
oil field waste management.

The company was bought by Phoenix Equity Partners just under five years ago.