Nishimura & Asahi, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, together with Nakamura, Tsunoda & Matsumoto, are advising on Japanese telecom giant KDDI Corp’s JPY496.5 billion (USD3.3 billion) tender offer bid for Lawson, one of the country’s largest convenience store operators.
A successful takeover by KDDI, which is priced at JPY10,360 (USD69.9) per share, would see Lawson, whose shares are traded on the prime section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, get delisted and go private. Japan’s global integrated business conglomerate, Mitsubishi Corp, which currently holds a 50% stake in Lawson, will not participate in the takeover bid.
Already holding a 2.1% stake in Lawson, KDDI will acquire the remaining shares from general shareholders, and jointly run the convenience store operator with Mitsubishi Corp, according to a February 6 press release by KDDI.
KDDI has mandated Nishimura & Asahi on its tender offer bid for Lawson, who has been counselled by a team of Tokyo partners consisting of Tatsuya Tanigawa, Cuiping Zhang, Susumu Tanizawa, Kazumaro Kobayashi, Yoshito Wakabayashi, Junko Wakabayashi and Satoru Yoshikawa.
On the other side, Lawson is seeking advice from Anderson Mori, with Nakamura, Tsunoda & Matsumoto serving as legal counsel to a special committee set up by the convenience store operator in response to KDDI’s tender offer bid. Anderson Mori has declined to comment on its involvement in the deal, while Nakamura, Tsunoda & Matsumoto did not respond to our request for information by the time of publication.
As Lawson’s current parent company, Mitsubishi Corp has hired Nagashima Ohno as its legal adviser with the firm’s team being led by Tokyo-based partner Masatsura Kadota.
The tender offer, which is expected to take place around April this year, is subject to the completion of procedures and actions required by Japanese and foreign competition authorities, according to Lawson.
