The advisory boutique launched by City rainmakers Michael and Yoël Zaoui has teamed up with Lazard on the latest multibillion-dollar M&A win for independent investment banks in 2014.

Zaoui & Co and Lazard are advising GSK on the sale of its cancer drugs business to Swiss company Novartis for $16 billion. The deal, announced today, will also see GSK acquire Novartis' vaccines division for $7.1 billion, while the two pharmaceutical groups will combine their consumer healthcare units.