IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

With an impressive roster of clients spanning from AIA Group to RBS Securities Japan, the experienced capital markets team at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu stands firmly among its domestic peers in the top tier. "I often work with Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu on equity financings," says a banking client. "Its level of service is so high."

In a landmark deal showcasing the firm's penchant for cutting-edge securities work, "luminary" Fumihide Sugimoto and Shinichi Araki led a team for Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan in the Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company $1.3 billion 7.25% step-up callable perpetual subordinated notes issue. This was the first-ever issuance of hybrid bonds which constituted specified subordinated debts and was completed under the new solvency margin regulations of insurance companies in Japan effective in 2012.

Another key transaction for the Nagashima team saw Toshio Kobayashi and Masaki Konishi advise Mizhuho Financial Group in a simultaneous international and Japanese offering of six billion of its shares of common stock. This deal was valued at ¥780 billion ($10 billion).

A star on the securitisation front, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu remains at the forefront of this market. It boasts a robust deal flow, winning work consistently from loyal clients such as Mizuho Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Although the size of the transactions may not be staggering, the novel structuring and creative approaches to the securitisations is what keeps the team at the top of the tier. Head of department Fumihide Sugimoto is considered a leading light.

In a deal for the Development Bank of Japan, Motohiro Yanagawa advised the lender as arranger and originator on a securitisation of loans against a local government that totalled ¥30 billion ($390 million). Yanagawa was instrumental again for client Mizuho Securities on a consumer finance loan securitisation that required a complicated master trust programme.

It takes a top firm to advise on one of the largest acquisition finance deals of the year, which is exactly what Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu has done. Well-respected partner Jiro Mikami starred for a group of lenders including Mizuho Corporate Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in a syndicated loan of ¥100 billion ($1.3 billion) to finance M&M Holdings' acquisition of Culture Convenience Club.

The firm is a staple advisor for a wide selection of domestic banks, and one peer notes that "Mr Mikami and Mr [Satoshi] Inoue have improved their role in advising banks". Its regulatory offering is commended and sought after by many clients. Another key representation for the firm this year was acting for Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF) on the refinancing and restructuring of the initial ¥225 billion loan it had obtained to acquire the ANA hotels.

"Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu has good team work," comments a client. The domestic firm is fast becoming a cut above the rest among the big four when it comes to M&A.

Last year saw partners Yuko Tamai and Tomohiko Iwasaki advise Panasonic and Panasonic Electric Works on a privatisation transaction. The tender offer, which was completed in October 2010, was complicated as it involved two concurrent tender offers among three listed companies and shows the firm's extensive range of capabilities.

Sanyo Electric was represented by the firm on the sale of its semiconductor business to On Semiconductor. The complex transaction involved the transfer of businesses, companies, loan receivables and employees across a variety of jurisdictions.

With more than two decades of experience in project finance transactions, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu has extensive capabilities in the domestic market. The team has been involved in a broad array of industries including energy, infrastructure, natural resource development and recently in PFI (private finance initiative) projects. One highlight saw Jiro Mikami and Nobuyoshi Inujima acting for the Development Bank of Japan for a PFI project of a feed centre in Shizuoka prefecture. The deal was valued at ¥950 million. ($12 million)