Hiroaki Takagi advises Japanese and international companies and private equity firms on complex M&A transactions with a Japan nexus.

Dual qualified in Japan and the US, Hiroaki draws on more than two decades of experience advising clients on:

  • Cross-border and domestic M&A transactions
  • Japanese and US securities regulations
  • Data privacy
  • Corporate governance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters
  • Trade control
  • Other regulatory and general corporate law matters

He distills the complexities of Japanese market norms and regulatory frameworks into commercially focused legal advice for international clients. Hiroaki leverages his extensive experience navigating cross-border M&A to guide Japanese clients in transactions globally.

Hiroaki brings an in-depth understanding of public company law garnered from his secondment experience with the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Justice. In this role, he helped to oversee a major reform of the Companies Act in Japan, which passed into law in 2014.

Hiroaki is a member of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association in Japan and the New York State Bar Association. He is Chairman of the Legal Education Committee of the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association and has served as a visiting professor at Gakushuin University Law School, where he lectured on M&A law. Hiroaki also actively participates with the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and serves on the Organizing Committee for its annual conference in Tokyo.

Hiroaki ’s experience includes representing:

Public Transactions

  • Ares Management Corporation on the US$3.7 billion acquisition of GCP International, the international business (excluding operations in Greater China) of GLP Capital Partners, an alternative asset manager
  • Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. on multiple repurchases of shares with an aggregate value of approximately ¥180 billion from Renault S.A. that were being held in trust by Natixis S.A. in connection with the parties’ rebalanced and restructured alliance
  • Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese automotive group listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, on the negotiation of the new framework agreement between Nissan and Renault Group that includes a three-dimension program to maximize value for all stakeholders of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
  • ARA Asset Management in its US$1.3 billion joint buyout, together with Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, of Kenedix, one of Japan’s leading real estate fund managers, a transaction that was awarded ALB Japan Law Awards’ Real Estate Deal of the Year
  • DXC Technology Japan, a subsidiary of DXC Technology, on the sale of its 54% majority stake in Japan Systems, a Japan-based provider of system solutions for enterprises and public services, to Longreach
  • Houlihan Lokey in its US$591 million acquisition of GCA Corporation, an M&A advisory firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in a two-step merger including a tender offer and statutory squeeze-out
  • Minerva Growth Capital, a growth investment business for late-stage private startups in Japan, on the share acquisition of Roland, a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software
  • A major Japanese pharmaceutical company in its ¥28 billion 2019 tender offer*
  • A major Japanese real estate company in its ¥10 billion company split*
  • Several top-tier Japanese companies in connection with shareholder activism matters*

Private Transactions

  • Nippon Life Insurance Company on the proposed acquisition of a 20% equity interest in Corebridge, a retirement solutions and insurance products company
  • Advent International on the acquisition of DSM Engineering Materials, a subsidiary of Royal DSM that provides high-performance specialty materials, through a joint venture with LANXESS
  • Aspex on the equity investment in Visional, a Japan-based human resources technology business
  • Block in the Series D financing of Kyash, a leading Japanese fintech platform
  • Landon Capital Partners and Nova Capital Management on the acquisition of Walbro Co., a Japan-based manufacturing company
  • Oravel Stays (OYO), a unicorn company in India, forming a joint venture with Yahoo Japan*
  • Park 24 in its acquisitions of:
    • National Car Parks in the UK*
    • Secure Parking in Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia* 
  • A major Japanese financial services company in its business alliance with an Indian tech research company to sell its products in Japan*
  • A major Japanese food company in the acquisition of four US flour-milling plants from a US-based global food corporation*

Data Privacy and Corporate Governance

  • A leading technology and internet group on data privacy compliance in Japan for cross-border products, including in the social media and gaming industries
  • A major Japanese trust bank in implementing directors and employees stock remuneration plans for more than 150 Japanese companies, including a multinational pharmaceutical company, a trading house, and an engineering/electronics company, using a trust scheme*
  • Major Japanese companies, including a mega financial group, an electronics/semiconductor company, a petrochemical company, and a food company, in implementing directors’ stock remuneration plans using a trust scheme*

Capital Markets

  • Deutsche Bank, as lead initial purchaser, in a 144A/Reg S offering of bonds by Softbank Group
  • Farfetch, an online luxury fashion retail platform, in an equity investment by Alibaba Group and Richemont in Farfetch and Farfetch China, a new joint venture that includes Farfetch's marketplace operations in the region
  • GigaCloud Technology in its initial public offering of 3,381,000 Class A ordinary shares listed on Nasdaq

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • Japan
  • New York

Education

  • LL.M., University of Chicago Law School, 2008
  • Diploma, The Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan, 2002
  • LL.B., University of Tokyo, 2001

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Japanese