Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Italian firm Grimaldi Studio Legale are acting as lead advisors on Swiss travel group Bravofly Rumbo's binding offer to buy booking site lastminute.com for $120m (£76m).

Under the terms of the offer, Bravofly Rumbo is set to acquire all of lastminute.com's principal operations located in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, which generate combined revenues close to €260m (£207m).

The sale price marks a significant loss to current lastminute.com owner Sabre Holdings, which originally acquired the holiday seller for £577m in 2005, with Herbert Smith and Slaughter and May acting on that occasion.

Cleary Gottlieb is taking the lead for Sabre this time round, fielding a team led by London M&A partners Simon Jay and Michael McDonald, assisted by London associate Andrew Reilly.

Bravofly's main legal advisors are understood to be Grimaldi Studio Legale, which fielded a team led by London office partner Fabio Pizzoccheri. For local English counsel Bravofly is understood to have instructed Dechert.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, with acceptance of the offer subject to the completion of employee information and consultation processes.

Bravofly said the transaction would not have a material effect its cash position and that Bravofly's brands and lastminute.com would continue to use Sabre's global distribution system.