Naver Corporation - Business integration of Line Corporation and Z Holdings Corporation
Leading Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi advised Naver Corporation [KRX: 035420] (“Naver”), the South Korean internet giant, on the agreement among NAVER, its subsidiary Line Corporation [TSE: 3938; NYSE: LN] (“Line”), SoftBank Corporation [TSE: 9984] (“SoftBank”) and Softbank’s subsidiary, Z Holdings Corporation [TSE: 4689] (“ZHD”), the parent company of Yahoo Japan, to integrate Line and ZHD.
Upon completion, the combined company will continue to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while becoming a consolidated subsidiary of SoftBank through a joint venture company, in which Naver and Softbank each hold a 50% stake.
The Nishimura & Asahi team advising Naver was led by partners Jiro Abe, Yoshiyuki Asaoka, Mitsutoshi Sugihara and Junya Kokaji, supported by associates Keitaro Hamada and Youngmin Kim.
People
Keitaro deals with various cross-border M&A transactions, both inbound and outbound, backed by his experience working in U.S. and Australian law firms. He has an extensive track record of success in handling private equity deals, not only on acquisitions but also on exits. Further, his practice includes M&A generally, such as business integrations, carve-outs, and JV formation. Clients value his outstanding analysis, communication, and presentation skills beyond just language (both Japanese and English), which he leverages for successful discussions and negotiations with clients, advisors, and counterparties.
Junya handles every kind of M&A deal, whether listed or closed companies, domestic or cross-border, as well as general corporate matters such as shareholders’ meetings and corporate governance. He always provides accurate advice to clients at any time and earns their trust with flexible and dedicated support. In light of his strengths and experience, in recent years, he has been involved in large-scale and complex M&A deals and management integration projects of listed companies. He is also involved in a lot of investment projects by domestic and overseas PE funds. Additionally, with his experience working for law firms in Brazil and Argentina, he supports Japanese companies expanding their businesses to Latin American countries as a member of the Latin American Practice Team. He also has a rich network of law firms in Latin American countries.