TOKYO/LOS ANGELES – Oct. 03, 2018 – Greenberg Traurig, LLP represented Pepper Food Service Co., Ltd. (KPFS: NMQ) (“the Company”), a Japan-based company engaged in the operation of restaurants and franchises, in connection with a Level 2 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing on the Nasdaq Global Market.
The Company operates in three business segments. Since 2006, the Pepper Lunch segment has been expanding its franchise business overseas. In 2014, the Company established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Kuni’s Corporation, to facilitate the growth of its restaurant business in the United States, with initial restaurants in New York operated under the name “Ikinari! Steak™”.
This is the first U.S. stock exchange listing by Japanese restaurant chain. Historically, U.S. listings have been dominated by traditional Japanese blue-chip companies, such as banks and electronic manufacturers. Pepper Food Service’s Nasdaq listing represents a new trend among emerging Japanese companies, not just in the IT and healthcare sectors, but also so-called “Cool Japan” sectors, such as restaurant, fashion, media & entertainment and hospitality, who see the importance of a global market early on.
A dual-office Greenberg Traurig, in Tokyo and Los Angeles, managed the SEC registration and Nasdaq listing for the Company. The Japan deal team, led by Corporate Shareholder Koji Ishikawa (Tokyo), included Corporate Senior Associate Koh Ueda (Tokyo) and Corporate Associates Satoshi Kubota (Tokyo) and Mitsuru Tadatsu (Tokyo).
The US deal team, led by Corporate Shareholder Barbara A. Jones (Los Angeles), included Corporate Project Attorney Grace Darnsteadt (Los Angeles) and Corporate Associates Lyra Haas (Los Angeles) and Katie N. Saucier (Los Angeles).
Ishikawa is the Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Tokyo office and focuses his practice on corporate finance and cross-border capital market transactions.
Jones is a member of the firm’s Global Securities practice group and serves as Co-Chair of the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency practice group. Jones maintains a diverse corporate and securities law practice across industry groups, emphasizing on complex international and domestic transactions.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.