Linklaters and Nishimura & Asahi are advising on global US hedge fund Citadel’s first acquisition in Japan, taking over Tokyo-based private power firm Energy Grid Corporation for an undisclosed amount.
The buyout, which also marks the US hedge fund’s first foray into Japan’s electricity trading market, is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. While Citadel confirmed with Asia Business Law Journal that this was the US company’s first acquisition in Japan, it said that it “did not have guidance on the purchase price”.
Linklaters is acting as legal counsel to Citadel, with the UK firm’s team being led by London partner Tracey Lochhead, energy and infrastructure partner Hirofumi Taba and corporate partner Yoshiyuki Asaoka, both of whom are based in Tokyo.
Nishimura, Japan’s largest law firm by headcount, is legal counsel to Energy Grid, which was founded by former Enron and Goldman Sachs energy trader Yohei Jozaki in 2021. Tokyo partners Shingo Yamada and Maya Ito are leading the Nishimura team.
Against the backdrop of a weakening yen, Japanese companies have been targeted for buyouts by overseas multinational corporations, particularly global private equity firms, in recent years. Last month, popular Japanese digital comics provider Infocom Corporation approved a USD1.7 billion acquisition proposal by US global investment firm Blackstone. In May, global US private equity group Carlyle also launched a USD835 million takeover bid for KFC Holdings Japan.
