Rakuten Group Inc. - Capital and Business Alliance Between Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
Nishimura & Asahi advised Rakuten Group, Inc. [TSE: 4755] on the strategic capital and business alliance between its subsidiary Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. [TSE: 8411], transferring 14.99% of Rakuten Card's common shares to Mizuho Financial Group.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising Rakuten Group was led by partners Tatsuya Tanigawa and Makoto Shimizu, who handled corporate/M&A matters; Susumu Tanizawa, who handled finance regulations; Masafumi Oda, who handled real estate matters; and Nobuhiro Tanaka, who handled competition/antitrust law matters.
People
Makoto is an M&A/corporate partner. He has advised on numerous cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions for a variety of clients including business entities, financial institutions and private equity funds. He also worked for a leading Brazilian law firm for one year and is a key member of the Latin American Practice Group of Nishimura & Asahi, and provides legal advice to clients that operate businesses in Brazil and other Latin American countries.
After earning his LL.M. at Vanderbilt University Law School in the U.S., he worked as a secondee at a NY office of a leading Japanese bank and the Tokyo office of an international investment bank. Upon returning to N&A, he developed an extensive track record in a broad range of finance matters, including financial regulations, capital markets (especially REIT), ship finance, M&A in the financial sector, compliance, and communication with financial authorities. He is one of the main members of our FinTech practice team and has extensive experience with respect to FinTech-related matters, and has advised a wide variety of clients, ranging from traditional financial institutions to start-ups. He also has particular expertise in regard to the payment space. In addition, he advises clients on financial regulations in M&A transactions involving financial institutions, and has experience in a broad range of cross-border matters, including inbound and outbound transactions.
Masafumi Oda advises clients on a wide range of matters in various sectors, including real estate transactions, securitization, and financial institution matters.
Nobu Tanaka is a partner in our Antitrust and International Trade practice team dealing with merger control, cartel/bid rigging, monopoly, unfair trade practice and dispute related cases. Nobu has much experience in dealing with cross-border merger control, international cartels and cross-border litigation cases. Through his 3 years experience in the U.S., Nobu has a deep understanding of the legal, business and cultural difference between Japan and other countries and he has expertise in explaining Japanese laws in a plain manner. Nobu always tries to understand clients’ interest and clients’ businesses deeply so that he can provide better and flexible solution. Nobu has good reputation in deep understanding of industries and business. In addition to antitrust cases, Nobu also handles various non-antitrust matters, such as cross-border commercial litigation, internal investigation, white-collar matters and cross-borer corporate transaction and general corporate matters including advice relating to new business in Japan. He also has a good reputation in timely and efficient communication. Nobu has LL.M degree at Stanford Law School (2017) and J.D. degree at University of Tokyo School of Law (magna cum laude). Nobu is fluent in English.
Tatsuya Tanigawa is a partner at Nishimura & Asahi, and has represented Japanese and non-Japanese buyers and sellers in numerous cross-border transactions in various industries, including stock and asset acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. He has handled both inbound and outbound transactions, including many public company transactions. He is committed to finding solutions for his clients in any transaction.