Rakuten Inc. - Acquisition of majority stake in KonMari Media, Inc.
Leading Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi advised Rakuten Inc. (“Rakuten”) [TSE: 4755], one of the world’s largest ecommerce companies, on its acquisition of a majority shareholding in KonMari Media, Inc., the lifestyle brand founded by tidying guru Marie Kondo.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising Rakuten was led by corporate partners Tatsuya Tanigawa, Makoto Shimizu and NY LLP partner Stephen D. Bohrer, working with intellectual property partner Yoshiyuki Miyashita.
People
Tatsuya Tanigawa is a partner at Nishimura & Asahi, and has represented Japanese and non-Japanese buyers and sellers in numerous cross-border transactions in various industries, including stock and asset acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. He has handled both inbound and outbound transactions, including many public company transactions. He is committed to finding solutions for his clients in any transaction.
Makoto is an M&A/corporate partner. He has advised on numerous cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions for a variety of clients including business entities, financial institutions and private equity funds. He also worked for a leading Brazilian law firm for one year and is a key member of the Latin American Practice Group of Nishimura & Asahi, and provides legal advice to clients that operate businesses in Brazil and other Latin American countries.
His clients include mass media companies, leading IT vendors, telecommunications companies and motion-picture production & distribution companies and other media and technology-oriented enterprises, as well as a variety of global companies. He has held the positions of Vice Chairman of the Computer Research Committee of Japan, Federation of Bar Associations (1993-1997), Special Committee Member of the Copyright Council of Japan, Agency for Cultural Affairs (1995-2002), Working Team Member of International Jurisdiction and Governing Law, Agency for Cultural Affairs (2009-2010), Committee Member of Centralized Administration and Competition Policy, Agency for Cultural Affairs (2010-2012), Chairperson of the China IP Issues Research Committee, SOFTIC (2012-2015) and Chairperson of the OSS Legal Issues Research Committee, SOFTIC (2015-present).