Multinational hotels giant Marriott International has turned to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Crowell & Moring to contest a potential fine of nearly £100 million ($125 million) following a data breach last year.

On Tuesday, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a notice of its intention to fine the company £99.2 million ($122.4 million) under the General Data Protection Regulation. It follows cyber breaches in November last year, which resulted in the exposure of personal data in about 339 million guest records – including those of seven million U.K. residents.

The London office of U.S. firm Crowell & Moring is advising Marriott on potential litigation matters connected to the fine, a person familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, two people with knowledge of the ICO's intervention said that Magic Circle firm Freshfields is advising the company on regulatory issues associated with the fine.

Neither firm provided a statement on the matter.

Announcing the company's intention to challenge the decision, Marriott CEO and president Arne Sorenson said in a statement, "We are disappointed with this notice of intent from the ICO, which we will contest. Marriott has been cooperating with the ICO throughout its investigation into the incident, which involved a criminal attack against the Starwood guest reservation database."

It is the second large fine the ICO has issued in the space of a week, following the body's announcement that it intends to fine British Airways more than £183 million ($229 million) for data breaches resulting from a cyberattack in June 2018.