Sanoh Industrial Co., Ltd. - Acquisition of Equity Interest in Winkelmann Powertrain México S. de R.L. de C.V.

Mr. Umeda has a wide range of experience handling corporate matters for Japanese clients investing in the U.S. and Mexico. He was seconded to a Mexican law firm (Mexico City and Queretaro) from 2016 to 2018, where he was involved broadly in corporate matters concerning Japanese companies operating in Mexico. Since 2019, he has provided practical support to Japanese companies located in the U.S. and Latin America in regard to M&A, general corporate legal affairs, compliance, labor management, disputes, and debt collection, while giving due consideration to local practices. In addition to his work on U.S.- and Mexico- related matters, Mr. Umeda also utilizes his connections with leading law firms in Latin America to allow for collaboration at a local level and thereby provide more flexible support to clients.

Yoshi’s practice covers various M&A transactions, cross border deals, and day-to-day commercial businesses, with a focus on Europe-related matters. He lived in Europe approx. 8 years including studying at the master of law at UCL in London, working approx. 3 years in leading firms in Frankfurt, Paris and Italy, a short secondment in Barcelona/Madrid and having regular business trips all across Europe including the Netherlands, Nordic countries and Eastern Europe. As a leading partner of Europe practice and cross-border team, Yoshi provides a tailored legal services in a timely and flexible manner.

*Legal advice in the UK is provided under the name of Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited, a legal entity independent from, and a subsidiary of, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo). None of Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo), Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited or, the representative, Yoshiyuki Kizu is authorized by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales, and none will undertake any reserved legal activity as defined in the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007.

James has significant experience being the lead negotiator in complex cross-border transactions and coordinating teams of lawyers in multiple jurisdictions with respect to all aspects of such transactions, including with respect to multi-jurisdictional legal due diligence processes, antitrust and other regulatory filings and other local law issues. James has represented private equity and hedge funds, public and private companies and other clients in a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions and other matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, minority investments, venture capital investments, public-private partnerships, private and public securities offerings, tender offers, proxy contests and corporate restructurings. Prior to joining Nishimura & Asahi, James was a corporate associate at firms in New York and Canada.

Dominik serves as co-representative of our offices in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, Germany. He advises Japanese companies on corporate and cross-border M&A matters, as well as European companies regarding their business expansion into Southeast Asia (notably Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam). He has a wealth of international experience and brings unique insights into deal-making across different cultures in both emerging and mature markets. Before joining the Tokyo office of Nishimura & Asahi in November 2019, Dominik worked at Clifford Chance (based out of Düsseldorf, Germany, and New York) and as in-house counsel at Pfizer, Inc. (New York).

Junko Wakabayashi specializes in antitrust and competition law. She has extensive experience with various antitrust matters and issues, including merger filings, cartels, transactional matters, and compliance, in both domestic and cross-border cases. She regularly engages with global clients and negotiates with competition authorities on their behalf. Due to her prior experience at the Ministry Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, where she engaged in policy and rule making, as well as operations, and built a network of connections in government offices, Junko has a deep knowledge and understanding of regulations and government affairs, particularly those that impact transportation industries (e.g., aviation, automotive). She was seconded to a major energy company, where she acquired familiarity with the energy industry. Her wide range of experience enables her to provide precise, tailored advice that accurately addresses and responds to each client’s needs and business operations.

Kayo has been involved in several large-scale domestic M&A, corporate restructuring and start-up transactions. Based on her experience studying in Germany and being seconded to a traditional German corporate law firm, she aims to be agile and responsive to clients' needs with regard to matters in Germany and throughout Europe, where EU law is applicable. She spent approximately four years in Germany, where she not only studied European antitrust law, but also gained practical experience at a local office for more than two years. While on secondment to the Ministry of Justice, she was involved in cases concerning the revised Companies Act of 2020 and the revised Commercial Code, particularly the Maritime Law. She provides support based on her understanding of the theoretical and academic background of the Companies Act and the Commercial Code.