Allen & Overy (A&O), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Proskauer Rose and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are advising on private equity fund Apax Partners' acquisition of surface treatment and chemical application provider Safetykleen Europe, from private equity fund Warburg Pincus for around £700m.

A&O London private equity partner Stephen Lloyd (pictured) is leading the magic circle firm's team advising longstanding client Apax. Private equity partner Karan Dinamani is also advising.

Freshfields City corporate partner and co-head of the firm's global financial investors group, Adrian Maguire, is advising Warburg Pincus on the sale, which is expected to close later this year.

London-headquartered Safetykleen Europe operates in 14 countries including Brazil, China and Turkey.

The company provides industrial clients with an extensive range of parts cleaners, tailored chemical applications, regular scheduled services and spent chemical collections.

Last year, Maguire advised Advent International on its acquisition of shipping asset manager V.Group for a reported $1bn.

Proskauer Rose's co-head of private equity and M&A Steven Davis is advising Safetykleen's management on the deal. He advised the company in 2008 when Safetykleen was sold for £565m to Warburg Pincus by funds affiliated with JP Morgan Partners.

Simpson Thacher is advising Apax on the financing for the acquisition, with a team led by finance partner Ian Barratt.

A&O is currently advising Swedish private equity company EQT on its €3bn (£2.6bn) deal to sell Bureau van Dijk, a Dutch data analytics group, to Moody's. The A&O team is being led by corporate partners Karine Kodde from Amsterdam and Dirk Meeus from Brussels.