Unimat Life Corporation: Acquisition of Cassina IXC. Ltd.
Leading Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi advised Unimat Life Corporation, a Japan-based beverage distributor, on its tender offer acquisition of common stock in Cassina IXC. Ltd. [TSE: 2777], a Japan-based furniture and household goods importer, manufacturer and retailer.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising Unimat Life was led by partners Daisuke Morimoto, Tadaaki Yato, Sakka Kobayashi and Junko Wakabayashi.
People
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.
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.
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.