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About the Office

Davis Polk’s Tokyo office, which opened in 1987, was among the first Asian offices established by the top Wall Street firms. The Tokyo office is staffed by one partner qualified in Japan as a Foreign Special Member (Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi) of the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association and six other professionals under direct supervision.

The principal focus in our Tokyo office is on capital markets transactions and mergers and acquisitions/joint ventures involving Japanese and foreign enterprises. We also work on high-yield debt and acquisition finance, structured and project finance and credit and leveraged finance transactions as well as compliance and internal investigations, and a broad range of other corporate and advisory projects. We play a central role in the flow of major cross-border transactions involving many sectors of the Japanese economy with a particular concentration in technology and financial institutions.

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Recognition

  • 1st among U.S. firms in announced Japanese M&A – Q1 2013 mergermarket


  • Davis Polk’s Japan practice “...continues to win key mandates” and is “...particularly adept at handling innovative and ground-breaking deals and structures.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2012


  • “Japan M&A Deal of the Year” (NEC Corporation’s acquisition of information management business from Convergys Corporation Japan) – 2012 M&A Atlas Awards and China Business Law Journal’s “2012 Deals of the Year” Report


  • “Deal of the Year” and “Most Innovative Deal” (eAccess high-yield bonds offering) and “Best Domestic M&A” (Chuo Mitsui Trust Group’s merger with Sumitomo Trust and Banking Group) – 2011-2012 FinanceAsia Japan Achievement Awards


  • “Japan M&A Law Firm of the Year” – 2012 M&A Atlas Awards


  • “Lawyer and Law Firm of the Year” – 2012 Dealmakers Monthly End of Year Awards


  • “International Deal Firm of the Year” – Asian Legal Business 2012, our Tokyo office has received this award four out of the past six years


  • 1st tier in Japan Capital Markets: Debt, Equity and M&A: Foreign Law – IFLR1000 2011-2013


  • Band 1, Japan Capital Markets: International: US Law – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2011-2013

Recent Matters

  • Daikin Industries/Goodman Global. We advised Daikin Industries, Ltd. on its $3.7 billion acquisition of Houston, Texas-based Goodman Global, Inc. from affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC. Daikin Industries is an Osaka, Japan-headquartered manufacturer that is a global leader in HVAC products. Goodman Global is a North American manufacturer of HVAC products. Hellman & Friedman is a leading private equity investment firm based in San Francisco, California.

  • Nippon Life Insurance Company. We advised Nippon Life Insurance Company on a Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $2 billion aggregate amount of 5% step-up callable subordinated notes due 2042. Nippon Life is the largest private life insurance company in Japan in terms of both assets and revenues and the world's fourth-largest life insurance group by revenues.

  • NEC/Convergys’ Information Management business. We advised NEC Corporation on its $449 million acquisition of Convergys Corporation’s Information Management business. Following the acquisition, NEC integrated the Information Management business into NetCracker Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of NEC and a provider of telecom operations and management systems to communications service providers worldwide.

  • Tokyo Stock Exchange/Osaka Securities Exchange. We advised Tokyo Stock Exchange Group in connection with its business combination transaction with Osaka Securities Exchange.

  • Chuo Mitsui Trust/Sumitomo Trust and Banking. We advised Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings on its management integration with Sumitomo Trust and Banking. The transaction created Japan’s fifth-largest banking group by assets and an entity with an initial market capitalization of $14.7 billion.

  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. We advised Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group on its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission and listing on the New York Stock Exchange. With a market capitalization of approximately $41 billion, this was the largest NYSE listing since 2002 and the largest ever NYSE listing by a Japanese company.

  • Emerson/Nidec. We advised Emerson, a global technology company, in connection with the sale of its Motors and Appliance Controls businesses to Nidec, a Kyoto, Japan-based manufacturer of small precision motors.

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