Allen & Overy (A&O) and Debevoise & Plimpton have advised on the sale of ING's Malaysian insurance operations to AIA Group.

The deal, which completed last month after being announced in October, has seen AIA purchase the Dutch financial services company's life insurance and employee benefits businesses in Malaysia,  as well as taking a 60% stake in ING's takaful Islamic insurance business, for a reported value of around $1.7bn (£1bn).

Magic circle firm A&O provided international counsel to ING, with a team jointly led by London corporate partner Richard Evans and Amsterdam M&A specialist Charles Honee.

US firm Debevoise acted for AIA as regional lead lawyers, with corporate partner Drew Dutton in Hong Kong heading up the firm's team.

Baker & McKenzie's Malaysian arm Wong & Partners handled local law for AIA, opposite local firm Skrine for ING. The Wong & Partners team was led by corporate partner Brian Chia in Kuala Lumpar.

ING Malaysia was previously the third largest insurer in the Southeast Asian region, serving more than 1.6 million customers. The purchase by AIA sees the two insurance giants combine their Malaysian operations to create the largest life insurer in the country.

The deal comes as part of a push by ING to sell off Asian assets to help repay state aid received during the financial crisis. According to Reuters, the recent deal is also expected to be followed by the sale of ING's Japanese, South Korean, Hong Kong and Thailand operations.