Eriko Sakata
Biography
Overview
Eriko Sakata is an investment funds and real estate partner in our global Mergers & Acquisitions practice based in Tokyo.
Eriko has over 20 years' experience advising global asset managers and blue-chip corporations on the establishment and maintenance of investment funds and co-investment vehicles that invest across a range of asset classes and strategies, including real estate, renewable energy, technology, infrastructure and finance, among others. She also specializes in real estate and structured finance and is experienced across a broad range of regulatory advisory work, including the contentious regulatory space.
Prior to joining White & Case she was a partner in the Tokyo office of another leading international law firm and was previously seconded to their Luxembourg and London offices. She has worked on numerous transactions involving the formation and investment of funds in Cayman, Luxembourg or other offshore jurisdictions as well as in Japan.
Recognized for 15 years by Chambers Asia Pacific and ranked Band 1 for Investment Funds in Japan, clients say Eriko is, "the best lawyer in the cross-border fund business." Additionally, she is listed as a Leading Individual (Gaiben) for Investment Funds in Japan in Legal 500 Asia Pacific where clients say she "stands out for her understanding of the domestic market, international fund managers and investors."
Eriko is also recognized as a notable practitioner by IFLR1000 and is a prior recipient of the "Investment Funds Lawyer of the Year in Asia" from The Asia Legal Awards.
Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan
Experience
Eriko's experience includes advising:
- Advantage Partners on its formation and private placement of Japan Hydrogen Fund, the Japan's first fund dedicated to investments in the hydrogen sector.
- SoftBank Group Corp on the US$93.15 billion launch of the SoftBank Vision Fund (the world's largest technology-focused private equity fund) that involved the establishment and license application of investment advisory companies in Japan, the UK, and the US.*
- Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) on its investment in the JAPAN ASEAN Women Empowerment Fund, a microfinance fund which will mainly provide debt to microfinance institutions in Southeast Asian countries.*
- Mitsubishi Corporation on its negotiation and co-ordination of US$2.5bn of commitments for the US$7.5bn first close of the Global Strategic Infrastructure Alliance – an innovative new type of investment fund structure developed by OMERS (a major Canadian pension fund) which will invest in large scale infrastructure assets.*
*Experience prior to joining White & Case.
