Amid a Japan-led US buyout frenzy, Tokyo-based printing and materials group Toppan Holdings has launched a USD1.8 billion acquisition of the thermoformed and flexibles packaging business of American packaging manufacturer Sonoco Products.
Morrison & Foerster and Freshfields are advising on the buyout, which will be conducted on a cash-free and debt-free basis and is scheduled to close in the first half of 2025. It has come three weeks after Nippon Life Insurance’s announced takeover of Bermuda-based US counterpart Resolution Life Group Holdings for USD8.2 billion.
Jeremy White, a Tokyo-based corporate partner and the global co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s M&A practice, is leading a team advising Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Toppan on the acquisition.
On the seller’s side, Freshfields’ New York-based partners Damien Zoubek and Zheng Zhou are heading a team representing New York Stock Exchange-listed Sonoco along with New York-based counsel Lisa Cammer and Silicon Valley-based counsel Stella Lee.
