Kenichi Masuda has represented many local and foreign clients in a broad spectrum of businesses and industries. He has extensive experience in advising foreign clients and is familiar with cross-border issues. In particular, he regularly advises clients on mergers and acquisitions of listed and unlisted businesses (including, but not limited to, share acquisitions and divestments and business acquisitions and divestments for foreign clients where the target is a Japanese company or business), joint ventures and other cross-border investments, and corporate restructurings. His scope of experience also includes assisting and representing venture companies in various aspects including start-up, equity finance and initial public offerings, as well as establishing venture capital or other private equity funds, advising venture or other private equity funds on investments in Japanese businesses including high-tech businesses as well as distressed companies. He regularly provides legal services on employment and labor union relations (including representation of client companies at the court and other dispute resolution forum), real property transactions, intellectual property issues, general corporate matters (including corporate governance and compliance issues for listed companies) and commercial matters.
Mr. Masuda served as a Committee Member for three committees organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for the purpose of stimulating venture business and investments into the venture business in Japan: the Committee for Improving the Business Environment for Private Equity Finance in Japan in 2000, which developed proposals for revisions to the Japanese corporate law, the Committee for Examining Desirable Disclosure Systems of the Venture Business in Japan in 2001, which developed proposals for revisions to the Japanese Securities Exchange Law, and the Committee for studying Start-Up Investment Agreement Desirable in Japan in 2021.
Mr. Masuda taught M&A (2011-2013, 2014-2016) and also taught corporate and business laws as a visiting professor at the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics of The University of Tokyo (2019-2022). In addition, he is serving as an outside board member of several Japanese public companies.
