Beer billions: magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan on a €6.4bn (£5.7bn) rights issue by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the recently merged Belgian brewer.

Pension buyout: City firm Sackers advised the trustee of the Thorn Pension Fund in its £1.1bn purchase of a bulk annuity contract from Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), in what is believed to be the UK’s largest pension buyout. PIC was advised by magic circle firm Clifford Chance.

Balkan gas: magic circle firm Freshfields and Belgrade firm Prica & Partners advised Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom, on acquiring a 51%, €400m (£359m) stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the Serbian state-owned oil and gas company. Gazprom Neft has committed to invest more than €500m (£449m) in NIS by 2012. NIS was advised by Belgrade firm Jankovic, Popovic & Mitic.

Ice drilling: City firm Watson, Farley & Williams advised Citibank on an $850m (£557m) financing for an ice-class drillship, built by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea, for shipping company Stena AB Group. City firm Norton Rose advised Stena.

Indian IT: south-west firm Osborne Clarke advised UK-based software consultancy Axon Group on its £440m sale to Indian IT services provider HCL Technologies. The deal will allow HCL to build market share in Europe. HCL was advised by national firm DLA Piper.

Africa mobile: City firm Norton Rose advised Vodacom, the South African mobile operator, on its $700m (£459m) acquisition of the carrier services and business network solutions subsidiaries of Gateway Telecommunications. Gateway was advised by US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Sound acquisition: City firm Taylor Wessing advised Esterline Technologies on its £115m acquisition of Racal Acoustics, which provides specialist hearing protection and communications products for military and avionics uses, from private equity firm ECI Partners. City firm SJ Berwin advised ECI.