Acquisition of Alico’s global business by MetLife, Inc.

Mr. Ota has a breadth of practical international and domestic legal experience, focusing on the areas of hostile takeovers, shareholder activism, M&A transactions (including cross-border deals), corporate governance and other corporate matters, domestic / international Tax, personal information / data protection, and works on a wide range of corporate legal affairs. He was selected as the NIKKEI "Most Successful Lawyers in 2022" in the corporate law category (1st), the NIKKEI "Most Successful Lawyers in 2021" in the corporate law (excl. M&A) category (2nd), and also the NIKKEI "Most Successful Lawyers in 2020" in the M&A category (1st) and the corporate law category (3rd). In addition, he dedicates himself to research and writing activities that bridge academia and practice on cutting-edge issues related to the Companies Act, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, tax law, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, etc. He has edited and authored many books and papers, such as “Schemes and Tax Issues of M&A and Corporate Restructuring, 4th Ed.”, “Corpus Juris M&A - Completely Revised Edition (first volume) (second volume)”, “Handbook on Share Options (Fifth Edition)”, “Corpus Juris Series - Personal Information Protection Legislation (Global)”, “Handbook on Class Shares”, “Nuts and Shell of the 2019 Amendment of the Companies Act and Practical Response”, “Legal Issues and Practices of Virtual Shareholders’ Meeting”, etc.

Hajime has extensive expertise in the area of corporate restructuring and insolvency, as well as securitization/structured finance practice (including concession transactions); especially known for his uncanny skills to see through complex issues and the web of differing interests of relevant parties, he is not confined to conventional thinking and instead strives to devise various new deal structures and provide new solutions. He also has an extensive practice in other areas of corporate finance and capital markets, as well as regulatory matters of financial institutions (including Basel accord capital rules). Having spent his youth in the U.S. and having studied abroad, he is fluent in both English and Japanese. He serves as the Firm’s CTO and is engaged in IT/DX-related matters, as well.