Our Team

Sam Inohara | イノハラ・イサム

Sam Inohara is a corporate lawyer based in our Tokyo office. Sam's practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures representing public and private companies in technology and innovation, life sciences and healthcare, and energy. He has substantial experience with carve out transactions and transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. Technology was changing the arts and vice versa.

Rankings

  • Chambers, Asia-Pacific 2024, M&A International for Japan

  • Legal 500 Japan 2023, Next Generation Partners

Experience

  • Inohara Foreign Law Office 2024 – present
    Founder and Partner Tokyo

  • Norton Rose Fulbright 2019 – 2023
    Partner Tokyo

  • Morrison & Foerster 2005 – 2019
    Of Counsel (2014) Tokyo

  • Nomura Securities 2001 – 2004

    Executive Manager, M&A Department Tokyo

  • Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County 1998 – 2000

    Staff Attorney, Health Consumer Center San Mateo, CA, USA

Qualifcations

  • Registered Foreign Lawyer 2012, Daini Tokyo Bar Association (G809)

  • Attorney at Law, admitted in California 1997 (no. 191603)

Education

  • BS, University of Michigan, 1993, Class Honors

  • JD, University of New Mexico School of Law, 1997, Order of the Coif

Joint Ventures

  • Chubu Electric’s investment in OMC Power of India for an undisclosed amount (2022)

  • Tokyo Gas’s 50:50 joint venture with EWII of Denmark to develop onshore wind generation projects in the Nordic region (2022)

  • International energy company’s establishment of 51:49 joint venture with U.S private equity and a local Japan developer, to bid in auctions for the right to develop offshore wind projects in Japan (2022)

  • Mizuho Marubeni Leasing’s acquisition of 26.7% stake in cogeneration assets in Europe from Marubeni (2021)

  • Fuji Electric smart meter joint venture with GE (2010)

  • MUFG’s $5 billion combination of its securities business with Morgan Stanley (Japan) (2010)

  • Fuji Electric joint venture with Schneider Electric in the Japan business of electrical distribution and industrial control equipment (2008)

  • GCA’s $850 million merger with Savvian (2008)

Minority Investments

  • Shizen Energy’s sale of convertible bonds and entry into investment framework for JPY 70 billion (2022)

  • Siam Commercial Bank’s investment in Akulaku for $100 million (2022)

  • Siam Commercial Bank’s corporate inversion of investment in OPN Holdings (2022)

  • SoftBank’s $200 million investment in InMobi (2011)

  • Recruit’s investment in and alliance with Bó Lè Associates (2010)

  • Recruit’s $150 million investment in 51job (2006)

  • Yahoo!’s $1 billion investment in SoftBank’s China affiliates, Alibaba and Tao Bao (2005)

Buy-side

  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries $550 million acquisition of the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) program from Bombardier (2019)

  • Asahi Kasei’s$1.1 billion acquisition of Sage Automotive Interiors from Clearlake Capital (2018)

  • Tsubaki Nakashima’s $385 million acquisition of the Precision Bearing Components business from NN, Inc. (2017)

  • The Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Walbro (2012)

  • GREE’s $100 million acquisition of OpenFeint (2011)

  • SoftBank’s $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint (2011)

  • SRI Sports’ $130 million acquisition of Cleveland Golf (2007)

  • Rakuten’s $425 million acquisition of Linkshare (2005)

Sell-side

  • Dickson Concepts’ sale of branded Southeast Asian distribution business to PVH (Tommy Hilfiger) (2019), Brooks Brothers (2015) and Ralph Lauren (2009)

  • SoftBank’s participation in Renren Inc.’s spin-out of non-core investments valued at $500 million (2018)

  • Toshiba’s carve-out sale of its global home appliances business for approximately $500 million to Midea, a leading Chinese home appliances company (2016)

  • TDK Corporation’s $3 billion RF filter joint venture with Qualcomm Incorporated (2016)

  • Hitachi’s sale of 60% stake in Hitachi’s more than $2.6 billion global air conditioning business, to form a joint venture with Johnson Controls (2015)

  • Fujitsu’s $7 million sale to ON Semiconductor of 10% stake in 8-inch wafer foundry business (2014)

  • Hitachi’s $4.8 billion sale to Western Digital of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) (2012)

  • TDK’s $260 million sale to Imation of the “TDK Life on Record” business (i.e., digital tape, DVD, and stereo products) (2007)

Representative Transactions