KDDI Corporation : Capital and Business Alliance With Skydio, Inc.
Nishimura & Asahi advised KDDI Corporation [TSE: 9433], a major telecommunications provider, on its capital and business alliance with Skydio, Inc., a U.S. drone producer.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising KDDI was led by partners Tatsuya Tanigawa, Kaoru Tatsumi, Sakka Kobayashi, Takefumi Suzuki and James Campbell.
People
Mr. Tatsumi mainly advises clients on international and domestic corporate transactions such as mergers, MBOs/LBOs, joint ventures, venture capital investments and other types of M&A transactions, as well as general corporate matters and commercial disputes relating to such corporate transactions; advising major business companies, financial institutions, and private equity funds, both in Japan and overseas.
Mr. Tatsumi is one of only a few lawyers in Japan who has been seconded as an attorney to the Ministry of Justice, and during his tenure there he had a significant role in important governmental activities, such as the amendment of the Companies Act.
Drawing on his significant expertise and deep knowledge, he has authored numerous books and articles in the area of M&A, as well as general corporate law. These publications provide practical solutions to complex legal issues, and bolster Mr. Tatsumi's reputation as a highly respected legal practitioner.
Sakka’s practice covers private and public M&A transactions, cross-border deals, and day-to-day commercial business. She also has wide-ranging experience representing companies in defending against hostile takeovers. She was seconded to one of the biggest telecommunication company in Japan, working as a Manager in the Corporate Strategy Planning Division. During the secondment, she was put in charge of M&A involving many domestic and cross-border transactions from business and legal standpoints. She acquired qualification as an attorney in New York and Texas during her secondment to an American firm. Leveraging experience in the M&A division of the telecommunication company and an American firm, she focuses on providing strategic legal support in various sectors, including M&A (Inbound/Outbound) and business alliances. Sakka provides tailored legal services in a timely and flexible manner, and plays a leading role in various complex transactions.
In 2015, Mr. Takefumi Suzuki was dispatched to a leading foreign law firm in Myanmar, where he was stationed for one year. He was also engaged as a special researcher to research legal affairs and markets in Myanmar for two years by the Ministry of Justice of Japan. He has experience in legal education/public interest projects, such as the project to draft the business legal affairs text book for judges in Myanmar with the cooperation of the Supreme Court of Myanmar, and delivered legal lectures to judges in Myanmar on business legal affairs. He has been engaged in a large number of cross-border transactions, such as cross-border M&A and joint venture transactions, and strives to flexibly handle the cases to adjust to and respect local customs and practices based on his broad experience in emerging and developed countries. He also has extensive experience in providing advice to governments and quasi-governmental organizations in Japan and foreign countries.
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.
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.