Davis Polk & Wardwell has advised China’s Thaihot Group on its $1.4 billion acquisition of Dah Sing Financial Holdings’ insurance business, Hong Kong's most expensive insurance deal ever. Linklaters represented the sellers.

The Davis Polk corporate team on the transaction included partner Paul Chow, while the Linklaters team included Matthew Middleditch, the firm’s global head of corporate.

The deal is the latest in a series of insurance M&A launched by Chinese investment firms as they seek to diversify risks out of a slowing economy, according to Reuters. Chinese insurers and investment firms are also trying cut exposure to the renminbi on worries the currency may weaken further, eroding the value of their investments.

Dah Sing is one of the last remaining family-run banks in Hong Kong and it has network of 70 branches in Hong Kong, Macau and on the mainland, Reuters added. Thaihot has emerged as a surprise winner for the asset in a hotly contested auction that drew bids from as many as 20 firms.