Yoko Takagi

Partner, Madrid

Biography

Overview

Yoko is a partner in the Firm's Corporate Group in Madrid. Drawing on her deep and wide-ranging knowledge of corporate law, her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and capital markets transactions. Her track record spans a broad spectrum of public and private transactions, mostly with an international component. Clients benefit from Yoko's knowledge and experience of advising private equity funds, companies, sponsors and investment banks on transactions involving a wide array of industries, including energy, financial institutions, cleantech and telecommunications. Yoko was a founding member of the Firm's Madrid office in 2013, since when she has been supporting the needs of clients investing in Spain, as well as helping Spanish clients to expand globally.
Bars and Courts
Spain (Abogado)
Education
Master of Laws
Universidad Pompeu Fabra
Barcelona, Spain
BA
Law
Universidad de Navarra
Spain
College of Law
London, UK
Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT)
Languages
English
Spanish

Experience

Capital Markets:

  • Kiko S.p.A.'s private placement and term and revolving credit facility, 2014
    Working as part of a team of the Firm's lawyers drawn from London, Milan, Paris and Madrid, Yoko advised Kiko S.p.A., a leading Italian cosmetics, make-up and skin care products brand owned by Percassi Group, on a private placement of €100 million, 6.50 percent senior secured notes due December 2020, to qualified investors outside the United States. The notes were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
  • BAML's €236.10 million share placement, 2014
    Yoko represented BAML in a €236.10 million share placement, through an accelerated bookbuilding process, in Gamesa, a world leader in the development, construction and sale of wind farms.
  • Liberbank €792,000,000 rights offering, 2014
    Yoko represented Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, BBVA and Banco Santander in Liberbank's €792,000,000 rights offering.
  • AXIA IPO, 2014
    Represented Axia Real Estate SA in the €360 million IPO of a Spanish REIT (Socimi) in the Spanish Stock Exchange and a private placement to institutional investors under Rule 144A.
  • CTT, 2013
    Represented the Portuguese government in the privatization and €578 million IPO of CTT - Correios de Portugal S.A., the state owned postal services company, This transaction is the first IPO in Portugal in five years. 21 million shares were sold to individual investors and the remainder to institutional investors.

M&A-Private Equity:

  • FSI's takeover bid for Deoleo, S.A., 2014
    Yoko advised FSI in connection with its proposed takeover bid for Deoleo, S.A., the world's leading distributor of bottled olive oil.
  • Citigroup Global Markets, 2014
    Yoko advised Citigroup Global Markets, financial adviser to Repsol S.A. Board of Directors, regarding the US$5,000,000,000 payment by the Republic of Argentina to Repsol through several bonds issuances, as a settlement for the YPF and YPF Gas expropriation.
  • Legrand's acquisition of Grupo Neat, 2013
    Yoko represented French group Legrand in the acquisition of Spanish private company Grupo Neat.
  • Sanovel's acquisition of Zumos Palma SL, 2013
    Yoko represented the Turkish company Sanovel in connection with its acquisition of Zumosol Palma SL, part of Grupo Pascual.

Finance:

  • Refinancing of the debt of Telepizza, 2014
    Yoko represented the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and another relevant Japanese bank, on the €1,280,000,000 refinancing of the debt provided to the LIXIL Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan Inc., for their joint acquisition of 87.5 percent of the share capital in GROHE Group S.à r.l.
  • Refinancing of the debt provided to the LIXIL Corporation, 2014
    Yoko represented the lenders. Morgan Stanley and KKR Capital Markets, in the refinancing of the debt of the Spanish pizza-delivery chain owned by Permira Advisers LLP.
Awards and Recognition

Leading Lawyer: Capital Markets – Spain, Chambers Europe 2014, Chambers Global 2014

Leading Lawyer: Capital Markets – US/UK-qualified Experts, Chambers Europe 2014, Chambers Global 2014

Leading Lawyer: Corporate/M&A – Spain, Chambers Europe 2014, Chambers Global 2014

The Legal 500, 2014
"Without doubt a best-in-class lawyer for capital markets deals."

Leading Individual: Capital Markets – Spain, The Legal 500 EMEA, 2014