Ashurst has advised Japanese electronics maker Sharp on its $1 billion investment in SoftBank Group's planned $100 billion Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, which turned to Linklaters for advice. 

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu was also involved in the deal, acting as Japanese counsel for Sharp. 

Taiwan's Foxconn, the parent company of Sharp, as well as tech giant Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm have also expressed their intention to invest in the fund, reported Reuters. 

In May, the Softbank Vision Fund said it raised more than $93 billion to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, who revealed plans for the fund last October, said that the tech fund is expected to be finalised soon.  

The Ashurst team included partners Hiroyuki Iwamura and Nick Goddard as well as counsel Dean Moroz.