GDF Suez has appointed a trio of firms to its inaugural global legal panel in the wake of its £5bn reverse takeover of electricity generator International Power last summer.

Linklaters and French leader Bredin Prat, both longstanding advisers to GDF Suez, have been appointed to the roster, which will cover transactional work in all of the jurisdictions in which GDF Suez operates.

US firm Shearman & Sterling has also been selected for the panel.

The tender process, which was led by Paris-based group general counsel Sandra Lagumina, kicked off six months ago, with each law firm asked to submit an extensive pitch document in July.

After submitting pitches, firms were asked to attend several meetings with the in-house legal team. GDF created a shortlist of firms in November, confirming the appointments just 
before Christmas.

One relationship partner commented: "GDF has a relatively devolved management style. The company is headquartered in Paris and Belgium and the regions are quite autonomous in choosing legal counsel. The GC wanted to create a shortlist of firms for the regions to choose from."

Clifford Chance was International Power's primary corporate adviser prior to the reverse takeover.

GDF Suez was created in 2008 following a protracted €70bn (£47bn) merger saga involving Gaz de France and Suez. A raft of law firms won advisory roles on the deal, with Linklaters, Bredin Prat and Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier among the beneficiaries.

Lagumina was appointed legal director for GDF Suez in June 2011, having joined Gaz de France in 2005.

A GDF Suez spokesperson commented: "The process of the global legal panel implemented by GDF Suez is not terminated yet. This project is of strategic importance and we shall communicate as soon as such process is completed."