NAME: Kazumaro Kobayashi
LAW FIRM: Nishimura & Asahi
COUNTRY: Japan
PRACTICE AREAS: Competition/antitrust
Competition specialist Kazumaro Kobayashi wins asialaw's December Lawyer of the Month award for his role in enabling Orix Corporation acquire mail-order cosmetics and health company DHC for $2.1 billion (¥300 billion), which was the financial services group’s most expensive acquisition to date as it steps up its recent acquisitions of companies it sees as undervalued.
Kobayashi is a highly reputable lawyer focused on antitrust/competition matters and international trade affairs. He handles merger notifications with the Japan Fair Trade Commission (the JFTC) and competition authorities in the world for domestic and international clients, namely in automotive and energy industries. His recent work also includes assistance in the joint venture between Honda Motor and LG Energy Solution to build a $4.4 billion lithium-ion battery plant for electric vehicles (EVs) in the US, and in Rakuten Securities Holdings 20 percent stake sale to Mizuho Securities.
Formerly at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Washington D.C., Kobayashi is admitted in both New York and Japan.