Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners has strengthened its tax expertise with the addition of Hidehiro Utsumi as a new partner. Utsumi, a tax veteran, has advised on Japan's largest leveraged buyout and tender offer and will be based in the firm's Tokyo office.
Management partners of Oh-Ebashi told Asia Business Law Journal that they expected Utsumi, who had joined from TMI Associates, to not only strengthen the firm’s tax practice but also, from a tax planning perspective, to contribute to M&A and overseas investment practices.
Having started his legal career at Nishimura & Partners in 1996, Utsumi served as a partner at Linklaters and Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman) in the first half of his legal practice. In 2009, he joined TMI Associates where he practiced as a partner until his recent move to Oh-Ebashi.
As a tax and accounting specialist admitted in Japan and New York, Utsumi, who is also a certified public accountant in Japan and the US – has advised on some of the largest cross-border deals relating to Japan over the years.
In 2006, he served as the lead partner advising Vodafone on the M&A, tax, and financing aspects of the sale of its Japanese subsidiary, Vodafone KK, to SoftBank Group for JPY 1.8 trillion (USD 15.5 billion), marking it as the largest leveraged buyout and acquisition in Japan's history.