Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Bredin Prat are advising on PSA Peugeot Citroen's proposed €800m (£635m) sale of transport and logistics company GEFCO to Russian Railways.

Freshfields is acting for the Russian state-owned railway operator, with Paris corporate partner Alan Mason leading alongside Moscow principal consultant Innokenty Ivanov.

Bredin Prat is advising Peugeot with a team including corporate partners Benjamin Kanovitch and Olivier Saba, tax partner Yves Rutschmann, employment partner Pascale Lagesse, competition partner Olivier Billard and finance partner Samuel Pariente.

Peugeot announced it was in exclusive talks with Russian Railways last month, detailing a proposed deal that could see the French carmaker sell a 75% stake in GEFCO, with GEFCO also expected to pay Peugeot an additional special dividend of €100m (£79m). 

The move has been made in a bid to accelerate GEFCO's geographic expansion strategy, particularly in China, India and Latin America. Peugeot will retain the remaining 25% share in the company.

Bredin Prat and Freshfields also advised on the high-profile tie-up between General Motors (GM) and Peugeot in March, expected to save the car giants around $2bn (£1.2bn) a year within five years. Bredin Prat acted for Peugeot, with Linklaters brought in to advise on competition aspects, while Freshfields acted for GM.