Morgan Stanley and The Blackstone Group are sharing one of the most coveted mandates in investment banking after being picked by Microsoft to advise on a $44.6bn (€30bn) bid for internet search provider Yahoo! in what would be the largest technology takeover in history.

The US bank has strong board links with both companies, although it has only advised Microsoft on one previous deal, the $125.4m takeover of Swedish software group Sendit in May 1999, according to data provider Thomson Financial. The takeover would be the largest in the technology sector on record, according to investment banking data provider Dealogic.