Morrison & Foerster Nabs Latham M&A Partner in Tokyo
The hire of Nozomi Oda helps cover the three-partner team departure to Latham earlier this year.
November 21, 2019 at 05:24 AM
3 minute read
Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock.com
Morrison & Foerster has hired Latham & Watkins corporate partner Nozomi Oda in Tokyo – the latest lateral move in the Japanese capital fuelled by the rise of mergers and acquisitions work.
Oda, who is qualified in Japan, focuses on cross-border public and private M&A transactions, joint ventures, strategic investments and capital markets transactions for private equity firms and life sciences companies. She also advises on Japanese regulations, including those related to securities, funds and mergers as well as health care and life sciences.
In 2015, Oda advised U.S. medical device company C.R. Bard Inc. on a $93 million acquisition of the 50% stake it did not already own in Japanese medical equipment distributor Medicon Inc. from Osaka-based Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. More recently, she has been advising Japanese drug giant Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. on a $6.9 billion global development and commercialisation agreement with U.K.-based AstraZeneca Plc of a breast cancer drug earlier this year.
Oda leaves Latham after more than five years with the firm; she made partner last year. She has also led the local corporate law practice in the Tokyo office. From 2009 to 2011, she seconded to the regulator Financial Services Agency of Japan as a deputy director of the corporate disclosure department. Previously, Oda practised at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, one of the largest Japanese firms, for more than 11 years.
Ken Siegel, managing partner of Morrison & Foerster's Tokyo office – one of the largest among global firms – said in a statement that Oda's M&A experience and her regulatory securities background will help the firm meet clients' growing cross-border needs.
In October, M&A partners in Tokyo told Law.com's Asia affiliate, The Asian Lawyer, that the past few years have been the busiest for deals – both outbound and inbound – in decades. The trend is driven by Japanese companies looking abroad for growth in a stagnant domestic economy and also becoming more open to divesting non-core assets.
Siegel said Morrison & Foerster is adapting to the increase in M&A activity by promoting "a bunch of people" this year. The firm is also relocating U.S. and Japan-qualified M&A partner Yasuhide Watanabe to Tokyo from New York.
The appointment of Oda helps the firm recover from the loss of M&A partners Ivan Smallwood, Noah Carr and Stuart Beraha, who moved to Latham earlier this year. Besides the three partners, the only other Tokyo partner at Latham is M&A and project finance specialist Hiroki Kobayashi.
Latham could not immediately be reached for comment.
Related stories:
Japan M&A Activity Ramps Up, Prompting Scramble for Lawyers
Latham & Watkins Doubles Tokyo Partner Count With Morrison & Foerster Hires
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