Paul Lee
Lawyers
Associate in our Corporate practice, based in Tokyo.
Paul has significant experience advising Japanese and international clients on their cross-border corporate transactions, focusing on M&A and capital markets. Before relocating to Tokyo in 2018, he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets and Financial Institutions practices in our New York office. Paul is a native English speaker and fluent in Japanese.
Paul is Chair of the Alternative and Foreign Direct Investment Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Experience
M&A / Private Equity
- Nippon Paint on its $2.3 billion acquisition of AOC from Lone Star
- bitFlyer on its section 363 purchase of FTX Japan
- KOITO on its preferred stock investment in, and proposed take-private of, Cepton
- GA technologies on its acquisition of Renters Warehouse in an Article 9 foreclosure
- JIC Capital on its $6.3 billion acquisition of JSR Corporation and $4.7 billion acquisition of Shinko Electric
- Relo Group on the combination of BGRS with SIRVA
- A Ferrero company on its acquisition of Ferrara Candy Company
- ABB on its $2.6 billion acquisition of GE Industrial Solutions
- Comcast on its acquisition of SportsEngine
- Anacor Pharmaceuticals on its $5.2 billion acquisition by Pfizer
- Atairos Group on its acquisitions of Bowlmor AMF and Learfield Communications
- Metalmark Capital on its minority investment in preferred interests of Reliance Gathering
Selected M&A matters before joining Davis Polk:
- Eppendorf on its acquisition of the centrifuge business of Koki Holdings
- Toray on its acquisition of Alva Sweden
- Knorr-Bremse on its acquisition of Hitachi’s commercial vehicle power steering business
- Seiyo Food-Compass Group on the spinoff of its catering operations at sports and leisure facilities
Capital Markets
The issuer in:
- Mitsubishi HC Capital and Mitsubishi HC Finance America’s senior notes offerings
- Money Forward’s follow-on offering
- PLAID’s global IPO
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank’s GMTN program and offerings of senior notes, including its inaugural issuances of green bonds and SOFR-linked bonds
- SEC-registered offerings of senior notes by a Japanese issuer
- A solicitation of noteholder consents and offering of senior notes by a Japanese issuer
- A PIPE of stock and warrants by a US biotech issuer
The initial purchasers/underwriters in:
- ¥348.6 billion privatization and IPO of Tokyo Metro
- Global IPOs by Rigaku, Noile-Immune, TMS, Net Protections, PHC Holdings and Visional
- Recruit Holdings’ ¥373.9 billion secondary offering
- Olympus’ debut senior notes offering
- NTT Finance’s concurrent $8 billion and €2 billion offerings of senior notes guaranteed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone and offering of unguaranteed green bonds
- Nissan Motor’s concurrent $8 billion and €2 billion offerings of senior notes
- SEC-registered offerings by Mizuho Financial Group, Medtronic, Editas Medicine and Kinsale Capital
- Block trades in shares of Japanese issuers totaling over ¥700 billion in the aggregate
Recognition
IFLR1000 – M&A – Foreign, Japan, Rising Star
Education
J.D., Harvard Law School
- cum laude
B.M., Composition, Economics and Philosophy, University of British Columbia
Prior experience
- Tokyo office, 2020-present
- New York office, 2015-2017
- Freshfields (Tokyo), 2018-2020
Qualifications and admissions
- Japan, Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi, Dai-Ni Tokyo
- State of California
- State of New York