Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has advised private equity firm KKR & Co on its first-ever sale of Japanese yen-denominated bonds, which raised 40.3 billion yen ($377 million). Davis Polk & Wardwell advised the underwriters Mizuho Securities and SMBC Nikko Securities.
KKR has been taking advantage of a push by Japanese conglomerates to restructure and spin off non-core assets, according to Reuters. Last year, the U.S. buyout firm agreed to buy Hitachi’s chip-making equipment and video solution unit in a deal valuing the company at $2.3 billion, and followed it up by snapping up the Japanese conglomerate’s power-tool unit for $1.35 billion in January.
And in 2016, KKR bought an auto parts maker backed by Nissan Motor for about $4.5 billion as Nissan looked to shift its focus to new technologies.
The Simpson Thacher team was led by New York-based partner Joe Kaufman.