Ropes & Gray and Greenberg Traurig Maher are advising on Pfizer's acquisition of part of AstraZeneca's antibiotics business for $725m (£547m), as well as other payouts.

Ropes is acting for longstanding client Pfizer. New York securities and public companies partner Michael Littenberg and life sciences partner Mark Bellomy are advising.

Greenberg Traurig is acting for Cambridge-headquartered AstraZeneca. Paul Maher, chairman of the firm's London office and corporate partner, is heading up the team, which also includes New York corporate partner Michael Hesel.

The acquisition will allow Pfizer to sell a number of antibiotics and drugs currently involved in clinical trials in markets outside the US and Canada.

Ropes is currently advising the company on a $14bn (£10.6bn) deal announced this week, which will see Pfizer acquire cancer drug maker Medivation.

The firm also represented Pfizer last year on its $17bn (£13bn) purchase of injectable drug maker Hospira, as well as Pfizer's $130m (£99m) purchase of meningitis vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and the acquisition of an $87m (£66m) minority interest in Dutch biopharma firm AM-Pharma.

Greenberg Traurig has advised AstraZeneca for several years. In 2013, the firm represented the company on its $1.15bn (£740m) acquisition of US healthcare company Pearl Therapeutics.

When Maher launched the US firm's London office in 2009, he said the firm's European operational focus would include pharmaceutical and life science industries.

Earlier this year, Greenberg Traurig began merger talks with Berwin Leighton Paisner but those talks were called off in March.