Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has a long-established presence in the Japanese market and a strong reputation for representing Japanese issuers as well as international and Japanese underwriters in relation to debt, equity, hybrid, and structured transactions, including IPOs, 144A/Reg S bond offerings, and SEC-registered senior note takedown offerings. Jon Gray - widely praised for his ‘profound experience and expertise’ - is managing partner of the firm’s Tokyo office and boasts over 30 years of experience in Japan handling IPOs, global follow-on equity offerings, and follow-on debt offerings, among other matters. Christopher Kodama counts major Japanese and international companies, financial institutions, and governmental entities as clients. He is noted for his considerable experience in IPOs and US dollar debt offerings. Chihiro Sasaki stands out for his expertise in SEC-registered and private offerings.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Jon Gray is my favourite US law partner for Japanese issuers’ capital markets deals and generally for anything related to US law (as he can check with his US colleagues quite quickly for me). He is very considerate, responsive and always think about us first and very knowledgeable and has a sound judgment. His Japanese language capability is excellent.'
- ‘Jon Gray has been leading their capital market practice in Japan for a decade and Christopher Kodama was promoted to the partnership last year, which definitely strengthened the entire team. Christopher has solid capabilities in financial disclosure and accounting matters. While Jon is for Japanese companies in traditional industries, Chris is for start-ups with new and unique business models.'
Key clients
- Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
- Nippon Life Insurance Company
Work highlights
- Advised the international joint lead managers and joint bookrunners in connection with the approximately ¥124.5 billion (approximately $831.7m) IPO and TSE listing of Kokusai Electric Corporation.
- Advised the international joint lead managers and joint bookrunners in connection with the approximately ¥55.2 billion (approximately $390m) IPO and TSE listing of TRYT Inc.