Norton Rose Fulbright Adds M&A Partner in Tokyo
Isamu Inohara joins after more than 14 years at Morrison & Foerster.
October 23, 2019 at 01:02 PM
3 minute read
Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock.com
Norton Rose Fulbright has hired Isamu 'Sam' Inohara as a corporate partner in Tokyo from Morrison & Foerster, where he was of counsel.
Inohara's practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions between Japanese and U.S. companies in the finance, transportation and technology sectors. Since June, Inohara, who is U.S.-qualified, has been part of the team advising Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. on a $550 million acquisition of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Inc.'s Canadair Regional Jet business.
Inohara leaves Morrison & Foerster after more than 14 years with the firm. He joined as an associate in 2005 and was promoted to of counsel in 2014. Previously, he was an executive manager in the M&A department of Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities.
George Gibson, Norton Rose Fulbright's Tokyo head, said in a statement that the addition of Inohara will enable the office to gain more outbound Japanese M&A business, which has been surging in recent years. Inohara fills a spot vacated by corporate practice head Eiji Kobayashi, who left to join Paul Hastings last year.
Outbound Japanese deal activity has been high since 2015, as Japanese companies look abroad for growth amid slow growth at home. In addition, cheap funding costs have fuelled overseas acquisitions, with the Bank of Japan maintaining negative interest rates since 2016.
Outbound Japanese M&A so far this year has reached more than $73 billion across 702 deals, according to data from Refinitiv. Last year it reached $179 billion from 863 deals, Refinitiv reported. The high value of the deals was due in large part to Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.'s $62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc. – the largest deal globally in 2018 and the largest ever by a Japanese company.
Earlier this year, Morrison & Foerster lost M&A partners Ivan Smallwood, Noah Carr and Stuart Beraha to Latham & Watkins and Dale Araki to K&L Gates. Despite the recent departures, Morrison & Foerster has one of the largest Tokyo offices among international firms with about 100 lawyers, led by M&A partner Kenneth Siegel.
Related stories:
Latham & Watkins Doubles Tokyo Partner Count With Morrison & Foerster Hires
K&L Gates Nabs Corporate Partner in Tokyo From Morrison & Foerster
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