Nishimura & Asahi was awarded the Local Legal Adviser of the Year in APAC, with judges impressed by the complex transactions it led on.  

A member of the judging panel said: “Law firm has been very active on leading and complex transactions showing ability to advise on diverse and complex deals.” 

While another judge added: “The firm has strong results and success demonstrated through involvement in a wide range of transactions to support corporate Japanese clients, including Toucan Energy’s solar assets in the UK, the acquisition of shares in German renewables company GIGA.GREEN, the sale of Tokyo-based market maker Energy Grid to Citadel amongst others.” 

Judges were impressed by the ability of the firm to deliver for Japanese clients domestically and globally.  

As the submission puts it: “Our team is consistently advising on landmark projects and transactions. Our accumulated experience and knowledge of leading successfully completion of each first-of-its-kind project and ground-breaking deal enable us to deliver innovative and effective strategies for our clients.” 

The firm advised Tokyo Century, co-investor on the purchase of the largest operational solar portfolio in the UK from Toucan Energy. Tokyo Century purchased the project assets as part of a joint venture with Schroders Greencoat. 

The target projects represent the largest operational solar portfolio transacted in the UK with a value of approximately £700 million ($904m) and a combined capacity of 513.5MW across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It marks a significant entry for Tokyo Century into the renewables market outside Japan and an expansion of its overseas business. Toucan Energy’s solar portfolio, consisting of 53 operating solar farms in the UK, was offered to the market by way of competitive bid. 

Nishimura & Asahi also advised Energy Grid Corporation, a leading power wholesaler, on its sale to Citadel, a leading global investment firm. This was Citadel’s first transaction in Japan and also marked the first major US investment in Japan’s wholesale energy market in recent years.  

The submission said: “We advised Energy Grid on the legal aspects of customising its business to meet international investment standards, to support a smooth entrance into the complex Japanese electricity trading market. Energy Grid is a start-up company, and we advised our client from the initial stages of the transaction. The numerous individual Japanese shareholders of Energy Grid posed a unique challenge, both to Citadel and to our team, which had to consider those shareholders’ diverse interests. Through a unique process, we unified the individual shareholders’ interests and structured the deal in collaboration with our client’s tax advisors to achieve a successful closing.”