Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Sullivan & Cromwell are advising Japan Post Holdings and two of its companies, Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance, on their $12 billion (1.4 trillion yen) triple IPO, with Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advising the banks.
Approximately 10 percent of each Japan Post division's shares were sold to the public. The triple listing is the biggest privatisation of a Japanese state-owned company since that of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp in 1987.
The S&C team advising the issuers is led by Tokyo-based partner Izumi Akai, with MHM partners Toru Ishiguro and Katsumasa Suzuki are acting as Japanese counsel.
Simpson Thacher partner Alan Cannon is advising the IPO’s four joint global coordinators: Goldman Sachs Japan, JPMorgan Securities Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and Nomura Securities. AMT partners Hironori Shibata and Kagayaki Funakoshi are representing the banks on matters related to Japanese law.
The triple IPO is a critical step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth to boost the flagging economy. With 24,000 post offices, Japan Post units have by far the biggest retail network in the country and currently have a total market value worth over $132.17 billion (16 trillion yen).
The Japanese government is also looking to raise around $32.9 billion (4 trillion yen) via stake sales over the next few years to fund reconstruction projects in areas that were devastated by 2011 earthquake and tsunami.