DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Capital Markets: Domestic

8 ranked lawyers

Band 1

Japan

Asia-Pacific 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

department information

Ranked Lawyers

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What the team is known for

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is a highly thought-of firm acting for clients on a variety of debt and equity transactions, including convertible bonds, MTN programmes, J-REIT offerings and high-profile global IPOs. Works with top-tier issuers and underwriters. Continues to demonstrate impressive expertise in structured finance products and derivatives matters, including receivables, tokenised derivatives and non-recourse property finance lending. Its key clients include Goldman Sachs, Shinsei Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities.

Strengths

One client reports: "The legal team's client service is very high. They always think how we can make the legal structure, what concerns we see, and then provide us with an advanced, creative and high-quality service considering these viewpoints."

Another source says: "The Mori Hamada & Matsumoto team puts in a very high performance as a legal adviser. Their quick response is very attractive in particular."

Work highlights

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto acted for Asahi Group on the Japanese law aspects of its global offering of shares and Eurobond offering. The matter totalled approximately USD1.5 billion equity and EUR1.6 billion debt.

Notable practitioners

Akira Ehira 's practice includes capital relief transactions, securitised lending and various types of derivatives transactions. An impressed client appreciates that he "has excellent knowledge of regulatory compliance in overseas finance in particular," remarks one client.

Katsumasa Suzuki is a vastly experienced adviser, frequently entrusted by issuers to lead sophisticated equity offerings. A client says: "He often recommends a very creative and flexible solution. He has a very deep knowledge and experience of capital markets."

Katsuyuki Tainaka has expertise in debt and equity issuances, including advising on overseas issuances. He is also known for his expertise regarding green and sustainable bonds. A client confirms: "He is very experienced in the capital markets and delivers a high-quality service."

Masanori Sato is sought after by industry sources for his knowledge of transaction structuring and documentation. His work includes advice on derivatives transactions, regulatory issues and securitisation deals, including margin loans and receivables. Market commentators describe him as "a top lawyer," while another adds: "He is a legendary figure in the securitisation field."

Taro Omoto is noted for his aptitude for REIT offerings and is equally popular with underwriter and issuer clients. He also demonstrates skill as counsel on equity and debt offerings, including global IPOs. He receives praise from interviewees for his"flexibility and reliability," with one reporting: "He has deep knowledge of his areas of expertise."

Toshimitsu Nemoto continues to be recognised for his established reputation in global offerings. One interviewee says: "He has good experience and knows how to work with clients."

Yasuhiko Fujitsu comes recommended by market sources for his track record of handling REIT offerings on behalf of issuers. He is also active on debt issuances and receives praise from interviewees for providing "rational advice that accords to the actual situation, not detailed legal theory," while another commentator describes him as a "key player" in the market.

Department Information

This content is provided by Mori Hamada & Matsumoto.

Overview

We have built our solid position as the Asian leading law firm in the capital markets area, and frequently act in mega cutting-edge deals of equity, debt, J-REITs, securitisation and derivatives. We also advise on disclosure, corporate governance, response to activist shareholders, investigations on accounting fraud and insider trading and securities litigations. We consistently receive the highest evaluation from the market players.

Our recent deals include concurrent global IPOs of Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance and their follow-on global offerings , the first listing of an infrastructure fund on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by Takara Leben Infrastructure Fund, the first listing and public offering by a foreign company using the Japan Depository Receipt structure, a global IPO by SoftBank Corp. and its follow-on global offering, the first global IPO conducted right after a corporate inversion from a foreign company to a Japanese company, the first IPO which attracted corner stone investors through allocation designated by the issuer, an USD-denominated senior notes and EUR-denominated senior notes offering by NTT Finance, the Japan’s first FIEA compliant asset-backed security token offering (STO) by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, a novel financing for Spiber through a “value securitization” and a project bond of project finance loans by Shinsei Bank.

For more details, please visit our website:

https://www.mhmjapan.com/en/practices/finance/