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Allen & Overy (A&O) has landed a lead role advising HBOS on the £1.3bn sale of some of its Australian operations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).

The CBA is to buy the Bank of Western Australia and St Andrew’s Australia from HBOS.

London corporate partner Alistair Asher has taken the lead role on the UK aspects of the deal, assisted by corporate partner George Knighton and corporate associate Sara Pickersgill.

HBOS has also turned to Australian law firm Clayton Utz for local advice, with M&A head Rod Halstead advising from the firm’s Sydney office.

A&O is a regular adviser to HBOS and is also advising the bank on its takeover by UK rival Lloyds TSB (see story above). That deal also sees Asher leading a team, this time including corporate partner David Broadley and antitrust partner Mark Friend.

The magic circle law firm also advised the troubled lender on its £4bn rights issue in April when the firm acted opposite Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort as joint financial advisers and brokers on the deal.

The CBA, meanwhile, has turned to Australian firm Freehills, where Sydney corporate partner Tony Damian is leading the team advising the bank through the deal.

The deal sees the CBA buying HBOS’s Australian retail and business banking operations as well as its insurance and wealth management businesses.

Knighton said: “This means that HBOS has sold the bulk of its Australian assets and has freed up some capital so it can now focus more on the UK.

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