What Investors Need to Know about Overseas M&A by Japanese Companies

Stephen Givens presented his in-depth investment thesis on overseas M&A by Japanese companies at Japan Investing Summit 2012.

Have you wondered about the implications for investors of the aggressive overseas buying spree by Japanese companies? SoftBank’s [Tokyo: 9984] bid for Sprint [S] is only the latest example. With balance sheets flush with cash, and a stagnant home market, foreign acquisitions seem an easy option for Japanese CEOs. Join veteran corporate M&A lawyer and Japan expert Stephen Givens as he explains what investors can do to properly assess such “going global” efforts and avoid the shareholder value destruction that often ensues.

About the instructor:

Stephen Givens is a corporate lawyer who has spent his professional career based in Tokyo structuring, negotiating and closing cross-border acquisitions and other corporate transactions, on behalf of both Japanese and foreign clients. For foreign clients, Mr. Givens offers transaction-specific representation as well as ongoing management of legal, contractual, regulatory, compliance and policy matters that arise in the course of establishing and operating a business in Japan. Mr. Givens undertakes special assignments for clients confronting unexpected management and legal problems, including disruptions in senior management, restructurings, turnarounds, employee misconduct, and official investigations. Mr. Givens regularly advises foreign funds and institutional investors in connection with shareholder proposals, proxy contests and other corporate governance matters with their Japanese portfolio companies. Mr. Givens has published extensively on various aspects of mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance in Japan. Raised and educated in Tokyo, Mr. Givens has been practicing law in Tokyo since 1987. Mr. Givens was a graduate student in the Law Faculty of Kyoto University and graduated from Harvard Law School. Mr. Givens is a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University Law Faculty and a lecturer at Keio Law School and Sophia University Law Faculty.

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