Hiroki Kobayashi

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) announced on July 25, 2023 that the global investment firm closed a US$200 million senior secured term loan to iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robotics. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and iRobot previously announced on August 5, 2022 that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire iRobot. Latham & Watkins LLP represented Carlyle in the financing facility with a New York banking team led by partners Stelios Saffos, Peter Sluka, and counsel Marcela Ruenes, with associate Julio Martinez Rivas. Advice was also provided on corporate matters by Washington, D.C. partner Cory Tull, with associate Zach Lippman; on tax matters by New York partner Jocelyn Noll; on intellectual property matters by New York partner Jeffrey Tochner; on ERISA matters by New York counsel Rifka Singer; on uniform commercial code matters by New York partner Brian Rock; on UK banking matters by London partners Bruce Bell and Dan Maze, with associate Hamzah Hussain; on Japan corporate matters by Tokyo partner Hiroki Kobayashi; on antitrust matters by Washington, D.C. partner Ian Conner, Century City/Washington, D.C. partner Makan Delrahim, and Brussels partners Carles Esteva Mosso and Héctor Armengod; on restructuring matters by New York partner David Hammerman and Chicago partner James Ktsanes; and on public company representation matters by New York partner Jenna Cooper, with associate Katie Marren.~~

Jul 25

1 min

Nippon Life Insurance Company (Nippon Life) announced that it has reached an agreement with Corebridge Financial, Inc. (Corebridge) and its parent company, American International Group, Inc. (AIG), on May 16, 2024, to acquire a 20% equity interest in Corebridge. Nippon Life establishes a strategic partnership with these two companies through this acquisition to further enhance the value of Corebridge. The acquisition amount is expected to be approximately US$3.84 billion (approximately JPY 595 billion), which will be funded by cash on hand. The transaction is subject to procedures related to regulatory approval as well as notification of the relevant authorities in relation to the acquisition. Latham & Watkins LLP represents Nippon Life in the transaction with a cross-border corporate deal team led by Tokyo partner Hiroaki Takagi and Chicago partners Bradley Faris and Jason Morelli, with associates Nicholas Cavallo, Tyler Arnfelt, Katie Connelly, Leah Beukelman, and Danni Wang. Advice on corporate matters is also being provided by Tokyo partners Hiroki Kobayashi and Yohei Nakagawa; on tax matters by Chicago partner Diana Doyle; on insurance matters by New York partners Gary Boss and Analisa Dillingham and New York counsel Alexander Traum, with associate Teresa Wendel; on compensation and benefits matters by Chicago partner Benjamin Rosemergy, with associates Victoria Wolfe and Tayler Evan Daniels; on foreign direct investment matters by Washington, D.C. partner Jim Barker and Washington, D.C. counsel Catherine Hein, with associates Julie Choi Shin and Amulya Vadapalli; and on antitrust matters by Century City/Washington, D.C. partner Makan Delrahim, Frankfurt partner Max Hauser, Hamburg partner Jana Dammann, and Washington, D.C. counsel Britton Davis, with associates Charlie Beller, Markus Welzenbach, and Charles McGrath.~~

May 16

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised the banking syndicate led by BNP Paribas, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan on the refinancing of MAHLE, a leading international developer and supplier to the automotive industry. The new credit agreement has a total volume of €1.6 billion, consisting of a €1.2 billion sustainability linked revolving credit facility alongside a €400 million term loan. The Latham team was led by Frankfurt partner Sibylle Münch, with partner Jan Penselin and associate Ralph Dräger, Chicago partner Vik Puri, and Tokyo partner Hiroki Kobayashi. Advice was also provided on tax matters by Munich partner Ulf Kieker, with Hamburg associate Julia Wenzel; and on US tax matters by New York partner Bora Bozkurt.~~

Feb 22

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised a Japanese consortium comprising Osaka Gas, the second-largest city gas distributor in Japan, Sumitomo Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading houses, and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN), a Japanese government-private sponsored infrastructure investment fund, on its primary investment into AG&P LNG Marketing Pte. Ltd (AG&P). AG&P is an important energy player in India with a City Gas Distribution (CGD) network covering 28 districts across India and approximately 85 million people. CGD companies are granted exclusive authorizations for laying, building, operating or expanding the CGD network in given authorized areas (GAs) by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board of India. AG&P has investments in THINK Gas, which holds 7 GAs mainly in north-central India, and AG&P Pratham, which holds 12 GAs mainly in southern India. AG&P will continue to invest in developing CGD infrastructure (CNG stations, household connections, steel and MDPE pipelines) with a view to increase the sale of natural gas and help in the transition of India into a gas based economy. The Latham team was led by Singapore partner Sidharth Bhasin and Tokyo partner Hiroki Kobayashi, with counsel Penelope Davey and Carolyn Wong, and associates Jonathan Wah, Nicholas Cavallo and Siana Bell.~~

Apr 18

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised TotalEnergies on an agreement with CEPSA to acquire CEPSA’s upstream assets in the United Arab Emirates with an effective date of January 1, 2023. The assets to be acquired are: a 20% participating interest in the Satah Al Razboot (SARB), Umm Lulu, Bin Nasher and Al Bateel (SARB and Umm Lulu) offshore concession. The SARB and Umm Lulu concession includes two major offshore fields. ADNOC holds a 60% interest in this concession, alongside OMV (20%). The concession is operated by ADNOC Offshore. a 12.88% indirect interest in the Mubarraz concession held by Abu Dhabi Oil Company Ltd (ADOC), through the acquisition of 20% of Cosmo Abu Dhabi Energy Exploration & Production Co. Ltd (CEPAD), a company holding a 64.4% interest in ADOC. The Mubarraz concession is comprised of four producing offshore fields. The SARB and Umm Lulu transaction and the Mubarraz transaction are subject to satisfaction of customary conditions precedent and final approvals.  The transaction strengthens TotalEnergies’ long-established presence in Abu Dhabi. The multi-jurisdictional Latham team was led by London corporate partner Simon Tysoe, with associates Becky Wee and Conor Nolan. Additional advice was provided by London tax partner Sean Finn with associate Aoife McCabe; Paris antitrust partner Adrien Giraud; Brussels associate Romain Perrois; Madrid corporate partners Ignacio Pallares and Maria Jose Descalzo with associate Carmen Esteban; Dubai corporate partner Chris Lester; and Tokyo corporate partner Hiroki Kobayashi with associate Takatomo Terasaki.~~

Mar 2

1 min