Credentials

M&A / Corporate

• NTT DoCoMo on its 6.64% increased stake in the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) for US$760million
• Bain Capital Investor Group on the Japanese and Hong Kong aspects of their US$6.6 billion acquisition of Toys R Us (in support of US counsel Kirkland & Ellis). Acquirors include KKR, Bain Capital Partners and Vornado Realty Trust 
• Fortnum & Mason on its joint venture with Mitsukoshi, the leading Japanese department store group to open Fortnum & Mason stores in Japan  
• JR West and JR Central on the acquisition by Vodafone of a 15% shareholding in Japan Telecom. Vodafone was reported to be paying US$2.22 billion in cash for the stake 
• Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group on the sale of its two insurance businesses in Japan. The value of the deal to Royal & Sun Alliance was reported to be £118million
• Skandia on its US$190 million sale of its Japanese subsidiary, Skandia Japan, to the Tokyo Marine and Fire Insurance Company. This was the first Japanese acquisition of a Western insurance company’s operations in Japan

 Arbitration / Litigation

• NTT DoCoMo on a claim for US$50 million in an ICC arbitration arising from a defective satellite
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in two ICC arbitrations which proceeded to trial in late 2007 concerning disputes arising out of the construction of two power plants in England
• Morgan Stanley Japan on litigation in the Tokyo District Court and other regional courts in respect of a US$119 million loan
• a European financial institution in relation to the defence of claims by up to 20,000 private investors in a failed $500 million investment scheme

 Energy / Projects

• a Japanese trading company on the development and financing of an LNG plant in Indonesia
• Japanese companies in relation to the development of power projects in Indonesia
• Japanese companies on the acquisition of upstream oil and gas assets in Africa
• a Japanese trading company on its US$352 million acquisition of a substantial stake in an Indonesian publicly owned oil and gas company
• a Japanese trading company on its acquisition of an interest in a project financed water treatment and supply project in Thailand
• a Japanese chemical company on off-take, joint venture and licensing arrangements for various chemical projects  
• a Japanese power company on LNG purchase contracts 
• a Japanese trading company on its acquisition of interests in the Tangguh project in Indonesia
• various Japanese companies on potential power projects in the Middle East
• INPEX on the acquisition of a 10% stake in the Joslyn Oil Sands Project (from a wholly owned subsidiary of French oil company TOTAL)
• INPEX on all aspects of the reportedly US$2.8 billion Azadegan oil field in Iran
• Sumitomo Chemical on all aspects of the development and project financing of the worldscale (reportedly US$9.8 billion) Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Complex in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Aramco
• Sumitomo Corporation on its investment in the Ambatovy mining project in Madagascar, reported to be likely to cost US$3.7 billion to develop and reportedly the largest foreign investment project in the region and largest project-financing in Africa in 2007
• a Japanese company on various interests and projects in the Caspian region