Morrison & Foerster, Japan’s Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, and India’s AZB & Partners have been the top legal advisors by the volume of deals in the Asia-Pacific region for acquisitive Japanese technology giant SoftBank since 2012, according to data from Mergermarket and AVCJ. 

MoFo advised 10 deals worth $14.47 billion, including SoftBank’s $1 billion investment in South Korean online retailer Coupang in June 2015. MHM and AZB represented the company on four deals each, worth $5.2 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. 

SoftBank made a total of 31 deals worth $18.51 billion in APAC in the past half decade, most notably a $5.5 billion stake in Chinese ride hailing firm Didi Chuxing in April.  

Globally, SoftBank spent about $98.5 billion across 57 deals, the biggest being the $35.5 billion majority stake in Sprint Corp in 2012. According to media reports, however, SoftBank has been in talks to cede control of the U.S. wireless carrier.

Related Articles

PAG GC to join MoFo Tokyo as partner

Morrison & Foerster is set to boost its private equity and M&A practices in Asia with the hire of veteran corporate lawyer Gregory Salathé as a partner in Tokyo. Salathé will join the firm in September from investment manager PAG, where he is currently a partner and group general counsel.

Japan’s Isshiki bolsters IP litigation offering with ex-judge, MoFo hires

by Mari Iwata |

Japanese boutique firm Isshiki & Partners has strengthened its intellectual property litigation capabilities with the addition of two new partners: Yukio Nagasawa, a former IP judge, and Akira Irie, a litigator from Morrison & Foerster.

Latham taps rival MoFo for M&A partner in Tokyo

by Nimitt Dixit |

Global law firm Latham & Watkins has turned to U.S. rival Morrison & Foerster to bolster its M&A capabilities in Japan with the hire of deals and private equity partner Yohei Nakagawa in Tokyo.