Seiko Holdings Corporation's subsidiary's establishment of a JV with Development Bank of Japan Inc., divesting its semiconductor business by way of a corporate split

Mr. Morimoto has a high degree of expertise in complex transactions, such as takeover bids and complicated transactions involving multiple reorganizations. He has extensive experience in cross-border transactions, both from domestic and international perspectives, and is deeply familiar with a wide variety of international legal frameworks. He represents a large number of international clients and, based on his knowledge of the legal frameworks of the jurisdictions in which his clients operate, he advises on Japanese law in comparison with the laws of other countries. In the field of corporate crisis management, he has handled a broad range of anti-bribery matters, including those related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He has extensive experience in advising on matters which include the development of anti-bribery compliance programs, anti-bribery due diligence, and internal investigations of suspected bribery cases. In recent years, he also has handled a wide variety of fraud investigations involving accounting irregularities and non-compliance matters, both for Japanese companies and their overseas subsidiaries.

Madoka advises clients on various matters of competition law, including domestic and international cartels, bid-rigging, M&A transactions, investigations by the JFTC, leniency applications and general antitrust law compliance. She is especially active in cross-border transactions. She has represented clients in connection with investigations into various global cartels, involving air cargo, marine hoses, TFT-LCDs, airlines, and bearings, and also in various merger-control cases, including a vertical integration between semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and major global merger transactions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. She has particular strength and experience handling IT-industry mega deals. Madoka is also active in advising in the international trade area, in particular, government procurement and export control. In addition, she advises on laws preventing unfair competition, including trade secret cases. She served as lead counsel to Nippon Steel Corporation in multinational trade secret litigation against POSCO (a South Korean steel company), a landmark case in this area, and successfully negotiated a favorable settlement for her client. She was a member of the Subcommittee on Unfair Trade Policies and Measures of the Industrial Structure Council at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2013 to 2023.

He joined Nishimura & Asahi in 2000 and has been a partner with the firm since 2009. His work is primarily in the field of finance. He represents lender and borrower side clients in a broad range of public and private financing transactions, with a special emphasis on acquisition finance. In this field he is recognized as a renowned practitioner with a high level of expertise and has advised on a large number of transactions such as LBO/MBO transactions involving both listed and unlisted companies, as well as on mezzanine financing transactions. He also has wide ranging experience in the area of structured finance, where he has been involved in numerous securitization transactions of a wide variety of assets including monetary claims, real estate and distressed assets. Furthermore, with his experience seconded to a merchant banking subsidiary of an investment banking firm, his expertise also extends to the areas of private equity and principal investment.

Takemi Hiramatsu specializes in general corporate matters including M&A, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. He is also skilled in dispute related matters, including those relating to employment and intellectual property. He is especially known for his ability to advise on M&A and other transactional matters that traverse various areas of the law, including corporate, securities, employment, IP and insolvency laws. Further, with his personal network and his decades of experience in developing the firm’s impressive network of overseas law firms, he is able to handle cross-border matters seamlessly utilizing expert foreign lawyers spanning the globe. His clients include some of the world’s most prestigious listed and unlisted companies. He is also a member of the firm’s Latin American practice team and African practice team. He was recognized as a recommended lawyer for M&A by Asialaw Leading Lawyers 2008 (August 2008) and for Real Estate Law by Best Lawyers Japan 2024 (April 2023).