Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is the latest law firm to encourage clients to capitalize on U.S.-Asian trade through the appointment of an experienced partner as head of its Japan transactional practice.
Hiroshi Sarumida, who previously practiced law at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, joins Orrick’s Japan practice and the firm’s M&A and private equity practices as a partner based in New York. Sarumida comes to the firm with a broad client base encompassing companies in Japan and many other jurisdictions. Sarumida has advised Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in the $3.5 billion acquisition of Avanir Pharmaceuticals and its $866 million acquisition of Astex Pharmaceuticals. He represented Toshiba Corporation in its $5.4 billion acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company and in deals that followed.
Orrick’s Tokyo office, which has grown since its founding in 1997 to include more than 30 attorneys, aims to help clients reap the benefits of outbound Japanese investment which has already surpassed $20 billion in 2015.
In a discussion with IFLR1000, Sarumida adduced several factors to account for the growing interest of Japanese companies in opportunities in North America and beyond.
“The biggest reason is that Japan is a mature market with a decreasing and aging population, and so many Japanese companies have no choice but to go abroad. The U.S. is a key market Japanese companies are focusing on. They are interested in the areas of life sciences, such as healthcare, energy/infrastructure, and financials as well as the technology sector, but of course their interest is not limited to these areas,” Sarumida said.
“As Japanese companies need to expand internationally, they like to take advantage of opportunities here. Historically, the U.S. is the most popular destination for Japanese companies doing significant cross-border M&A transactions,” he added.
Sarumida holds an LL.B. from Kyoto University Faculty of Law, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, and an LL.M. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.