Naoya ShiotaMorrison Foerster has continued the expansion of its global private equity group with the appointment of partner Naoya Shiota in Tokyo, amid the uptick in majority-stake deals in the country.
Ken Siegel, Morrison Foerster’s managing partner of the Tokyo office and head of M&A, told Asia Business Law Journal that while whole-company buyouts remain the dominant structure for private equity deals in Japan, the firm had also observed a rising interest in majority-stake transactions. “We do not expect majority-stake deals to become the norm in Japan … But the uptick in majority-stake deals in the Japan market is interesting,” said Siegel.
Shiota was previously a partner at White & Case and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, bringing more than two decades of experience advising global private equity funds and Japanese corporates on a broad range of cross-border and domestic transactions. His practice spans M&A, finance, tender offers and going-private deals.
Shiota’s arrival follows a wave of global hires this year within the private equity group, including partners Xiaoxi Lin in Hong Kong and Scott Jalowayski in Singapore.
Siegel noted that Japan’s private equity boom is being driven not only by abundant investment capital and a weaker yen, but also by “changes in Japanese corporate governance, the increasing influence of shareholder activists, and the continuing impact of updated Japanese government guidelines”.
Read the related article here:
For more stories about Morrison Foerster, visit law.asia.