Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom are advising as Germany's billionaire Reimann family adds Panera Bread to its growing US food and drinks empire.

Its investment arm, JAB, has agreed to purchase the US restaurant chain for $7.5bn (£6.1bn), including debt.

In recent years, JAB has acquired a number of food and beverage companies including Krispy Kreme and Caribou Coffee. It also owns consumer goods company Jimmy Choo.

Sullivan is advising Panera Bread on the deal. The firm is fielding a New York team including corporate partners Frank Aquila and Audra Cohen, executive compensation and benefits partner Heather Coleman, finance partner Ari Blaut, intellectual property partner Nader Mousavi and tax partner Ronald Creamer.

Skadden is advising JAB on the acquisition, fielding a team led out of by New York by M&A partners Sean Doyle and Paul Schnell; banking partner Steven Messina; intellectual property and technology partner Bruce Goldner; executive compensation and benefits partner Erica Schohn; and employment partner David Schwartz.

Other mandates Sullivan has won recently include acting for AT&T on its $85.4bn (£70bn) takeover of Time Warner, a deal that was announced in October last year. Cravath Swaine & Moore is advising Time Warner.

Meanwhile, Skadden picked up a role in December to advise 21st Century Fox alongside Allen & Overy on its takeover bid for Sky.