Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune have advised Japanese discount-store chain operator Trial Holdings on its $258 million initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), the largest IPO of the year so far.
Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Davis Polk & Wardwell advised the underwriters.
An S&P Global report from Feb 2024 has found that Japan's IPO market will experience strong growth in 2024, after a subdued prior two years, on the back of corporate governance reforms, earnings improvement, and strong foreign investor interest.
Investor interest in Japanese stocks has surged in recent months, helping drive the Nikkei 225 index to hit an all-time high of 39,233.71 on Feb. 26, beating a previous high from 34 years ago.
The TSE's corporate governance reform, the return of inflation after COVID-19 and the Japanese government's revamp of the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA), a tax-free stock investment program for individuals, among other things, are driving this investor interest, RBC Wealth Management said last month.
The Skadden team was led by Tokyo-based corporate partner Kenji Taneda, while the AMT team was led by partners Nagayaki Funakoshi and Shimpei Nohara.
The Mori Hamada team was led by partner Toshimitsu Nemoto.
Skadden has also advised on a number of Japanese IPOs in the last couple of years, including Daiei Kanyo's $325 million listing, and chipmaker Socionext's $460 million public offering.
