Noah Carr

Latham & Watkins advised SoftBank Vision Fund 2 on leading a US$50 million funding round for Clarity AI, an award-winning sustainability tech firm, which is now valued at US$450 million. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by the Fifth Wall ClimateTech Fund as well as existing investors – BlackRock among them. Private contributor Sir Jonathan Ive, Chancellor of the Royal College of Art and former Chief Design Officer at Apple also contributed to the round. Existing investors include Seaya Ventures, Deutsche Boerse, Kibo Ventures, Mundi Ventures, and Founders Fund. The Latham team was led by London partner Mike Turner, Tokyo partner Noah Carr, and Silicon Valley partner Saad Khanani, with associates Naomi Smith and Allison Kramer.~~

Dec 2

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised VinFast Auto Pte. Ltd. (VinFast) on its proposed public listing through a business combination with Black Spade Acquisition Co. (NYSE: BSAQ) (Black Spade). The business combination values VinFast at an enterprise value of approximately US$27 billion and an equity value of US$23 billion, not including Black Spade’s approximately US$169 million of cash in trust (assuming no Black Spade shareholders elect to have their Black Spade shares redeemed for cash as permitted). The Latham team was led by Singapore partners Sharon Lau and Stacey Wong, and Tokyo partner Noah Carr, with associates Elisabeth Ong, Sirada Chayabunjonglerd, Jeffy Katio, and Bijun Huang. Advice on public company matters was provided by Washington, D.C. partner Julia Thompson and associates Michael Foland and Wei Cai; on tax matters by New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim and associate Aaron Bernstein; on executive compensation and employee benefits matters by Washington, D.C. partner David Della Rocca and associates Marysia Mullen and Bryce Williamson; on ESG matters by London partner Paul Davies, New York partner Betty Huber, Austin partner Sarah Fortt, and London associate James Bee; and on investment company status matters by Chicago partner Laura Ferrell and associate Daniel Filstrup. VinFast, a member of Vingroup, was founded in 2017 and manufacturers and exports a full portfolio of e-SUVs, e-scooters, and e-buses across Vietnam, North America, and, soon, Europe. The company converted into a fully EV manufacturer in 2022, and has delivered four EV models: VF e34, VF 8, VF 9, and VF 5 to customers in Vietnam to date. VinFast recently crossed an important milestone on the journey to becoming a recognized global EV brand with its first VF 8 EVs exported to North America earlier this year.~~

May 15

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (“Freshfields”) is advising The Yokohama Rubber Company, Limited (“Yokohama”) on its acquisition of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s (“Goodyear”) off-the-road (OTR) tire business for $905 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The OTR business being acquired by Yokohama is engaged predominantly in the manufacture and sale of tires for mining and construction machinery. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. Read more about this transaction here. The Freshfields team is led by partners Paul Tiger and Sebastian Fain in New York and Takeshi Nakao and Noah Carr in Tokyo. They are supported by a large cross-border, multidisciplinary team including counsel Enrique Dancausa, senior associates Max Sanders, Marissa Yu and Hugh Goodwin.

Jul 22

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, on its establishment of Oona Insurance (Oona), a digital general insurance platform in Southeast Asia, and Oona’s initial acquisitions of two general insurance assets in the region. The investment sees Warburg Pincus partner with Abhishek Bhatia, a seasoned insurance executive, to build the pre-eminent digital general insurance player in Southeast Asia. The transaction represents the largest funding round in the region to seed a digital insurance platform; Oona has already announced acquisitions of Mapfre Insular Insurance Corp. in the Philippines and PT Asuransi Bina Dana Arta Tbk in Indonesia. Noah Carr, corporate partner at Latham & Watkins, commented, “We are delighted to support long term client Warburg Pincus and particularly happy to be able to support Abhishek and team in the establishment of Oona and acquisition of its first assets.” The Latham team was led by corporate partners Noah Carr and Amy Beckingham, with associates Bing Xi Sia, Joanne Lao, I-Ming Tan, Janet Zhang, Edward Tang, and Karen Wong. Advice was provided on finance matters by partner Andrew Bishop, with associates Tian Lin and Marc Tan; on compliance matters by partner Kaede Toh and associates Miki Someya and Evangeline Tsui; and on DTT matters by partner Stuart Beraha and associate Benjamin Han.~~

Nov 21

1 min

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has appointed Noah Carr and Gordon Palmquist as partners. Both will join the firm’s Tokyo office. Noah Carr joins from Latham & Watkins’ Tokyo office and has also worked as a partner at Morrison & Foerster in the city. He advises on complex public and private acquisitions, carve outs, private equity and growth capital investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances, serving a variety of Japanese corporates and investors as well as international financial sponsors. He has over a decade of experience in Japan. Gordon Palmquist joins from Mayer Brown in Tokyo, where he was a partner in the M&A practice after previously working for Shearman & Sterling in the city. He advises Japanese trading houses, corporates, and financial services institutions on outbound M&A, carve-outs and sales of businesses, corporate governance and private equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital investments. He speaks fluent Japanese and has lived in Japan for more than 22 years. Noah and Gordon are both US-qualified and registered foreign lawyers ('gaiben') in Japan. Both have broad experience of advising clients on complex cross-border transactions, including those involving the US, where we are continuing to see increased client demand. Noah and Gordon will work closely with our existing Tokyo-based M&A, antitrust and disputes teams and colleagues from across Asia, the US and Europe to service our clients’ evolving needs, with Japan playing an increasingly important role in our clients’ global strategies. “Our partners are pleased to welcome Noah Carr and Gordon Palmquist to Freshfields,” said Thomas Ng, Regional Managing Partner, Asia at Freshfields. “Both are highly regarded by their peers, with strong track records of advising some of Japan’s most recognised companies and leading international investors on a range of business-critical transactions and other matters. Their hires represent the latest step in our growth drive in Japan and their impressive cross-border Japan–US credentials will strengthen our respected Tokyo team and grow our M&A business even further.” “I am delighted that Noah and Gordon have taken the opportunity to join Freshfields,” said Freshfields’ Tokyo Managing Partner Takeshi Nakao. “Their deep experience of the Japan market, together with our fully-integrated team of Japanese and international lawyers – all backed by a world-class, full-service offering and network – will prove a winning combination for our team, our clients and our business. It is an exciting time for our Japan practice, and I look forward to working with our new partners.”

Nov 1

2 min