Ci:z Holdings - Capital and business alliance with Johnson & Johnson
Leading Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi has advised Ci:z Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Ci:z”) on its capital and business alliance with U.S. consumer health care company Johnson & Johnson.
Ci:z, the parent company of the Dr.Ci:Labo skin care brand, makes cleansers, exfoliators and moisturisers, including the Aqua-Collagen-Gel and Ever Bright ranges. As part of the deal, the rights to Dr.Ci:Labo outside of the Japanese market were transferred to Johnson & Johnson, which became Ci:z’s second biggest shareholder. Through its investment in Ci:z, Johnson & Johnson aims to strengthen its skin care business, in which Japanese manufacturers excel. The value of the transaction was approximately ¥3.5bn.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising Ci:z was led by partners Hitomi Iwase, Yuji Shiga, Jiro Abe, Takeshi Nemoto and Kentaro Sugimoto.
People
Hitomi handles patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other IP-related matters in multiple business sectors, including IT, life sciences and healthcare, machinery, food, fashion, environment and energy, entertainment, financial services, and e-commerce. Ms. Iwase’s expertise encompasses all forms of IP transactional work, both cross-border and domestic, including licensing, strategic alliances, joint development, and asset transfers, as well as various types of IP disputes, including patent/trademark infringement litigation. Hitomi also assists clients in anti-counterfeiting and in the development of IP portfolios and prosecution strategies. Hitomi regularly advises clients on emerging legal issues relating to the latest technology, such as IoT and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as on complex system-related transactions and disputes over such transactions. In the area of data privacy, Hitomi provides extensive advice on data protection and privacy compliance, including on establishing global compliance systems and incidents such as data breaches. Hitomi also advises on related areas such as e-commerce, advertising, and consumer protection.
Kentaro has been involved in a significant number of capital market transactions including Euro bond offerings, global bond offerings, IPOs, follow-on offerings and convertible bonds offerings, conducted by both Japanese issuers and foreign issuers, as the issuer’s counsel or underwriter’s counsel. In addition, he advises on compliance with Japanese disclosure and reporting requirements.
Takeshi has handled many complex M&A transactions and provides sincere advice to his clients. He has extensive experience in M&A-related disputes, and is well versed in the various issues facing companies with founding family shareholders. In recent years, he has been involved in many cases involving business and human rights, impact investing, and advises companies from the perspective of sustainability. He is also actively involved in pro bono work and is one of the most experienced in Japan.
Yuji’s practice includes a wide range of M&A, investment, and joint venture transaction, etc. involving a Japanese company and a foreign company / investment fund; in that transaction, he represented both parties through successful completion of the transaction. With his seasoned experience of acquisition matters by foreign investment funds, he advises numerous Japanese listed and unlisted companies on activism matters. He has received accolades from his clients that (i) he is very pragmatic and proactive (ii) he always gives a good, commercial view of the bigger picture around a situation with deep understanding of his client and (iii) he has an ability to ‘put himself in his clients’ shoes. He is also active in the Firm’s Asia practice such as India, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.