autonomous car

Jones Day, Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Covington & Burling have secured roles advising on Renesas Electronics' $3.2bn (£2.4bn) purchase of US chipmaker Intersil.

The deal comes as the Japanese company aims to expand into the automotive industry, joining a rush of chipmakers seeking to enter the market for smart cars and self-driving car technology.

Intersil has turned to Jones Day and Covington & Burling for legal advice on the deal.

It is understood that Jones Day's team includes California M&A partners Daniel Mitz and Micheal Regan, while Covington is fielding a team led by cross-border investment practice co-chair David Fagan and Washington-based financial services partner Mark Plotkin.

MoFo is acting for Renesas. Its team comprises technology partner Masato Hayakawa, M&A partner Gary Smith and corporate partner Jeff Schrepfer in Tokyo. New York corporate partner Jeffery Bell also assisted on the deal.

The firm previously represented semiconductor maker NEC Electronics on its $3.9bn (£3bn) merger deal with Renesas in 2009.

MoFo's Tokyo office has been involved in a number of significant transactions during the summer. The firm is advising SoftBank on its $32bn (£24.4bn) purchase of ARM and its $8bn (£6.1bn) sale of a controlling stake in Finnish gaming company Supercell, as well as Toshiba on the $1bn (£760m) sale of its appliances business to Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer Midea.