Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills have landed the starring roles on Cineworld Group's £504m acquisition of Poland-based Cinema City International (CCI).

The combination will create the second largest cinema operator in Europe.

Cineworld has launched a £110m rights issue to help finance the deal.

Slaughters is advising Cineworld on the deal, fielding a team led by corporate partners David Johnson and Mark Zerdin, with debt financing partner Guy O'Keefe, employment partner Roland Doughty, tax partner Gareth Miles, real estate partner Jane Edwarde and competition partner Bertrand Louveaux.

Zerdin told Legal Week: "It was a very challenging but exciting deal brought together in a tight time frame. Given the international nature of CCI's operations and the fact that it is a Dutch incorporated company with a listing in Poland we had lawyers in seven jurisdictions working over the holiday period on an M&A deal, a rights issue and new debt facilities."

Clifford Chance is advising CCI, led by corporate partners Jonny Myers and Spencer Baylin.

HSF are advising the banks underwriting the deal – Barclays, J.P. Morgan and Investec – with corporate partners Mike Flockhart and Chris Haynes leading, and US securities partner Steve Thierbach also involved.

Linklaters acted for the lenders on the new finance facility for Cineworld.

CCI has outlets across seven jurisdictions including Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Israel.

Cineworld, which floated in 2007, operates the 10 highest-grossing individual cinemas in the UK and Ireland.