Write-up of Japan Achievement Awards 2008, day 2

DEAL OF THE YEAR
Takeda Pharmaceutical's $8.5 billion acquisition of the US's Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Acquirer adviser: UBS Investment Bank
Target adviser: Goldman Sachs

This was a deal which simply ticked all the right boxes in a very complete manner. It was the biggest deal of the year, it made excellent strategic sense and it was flawlessly executed. It also makes sense for the deal of the year to come from the pharmaceutical sector this year, as this sector saw the greatest level of cross-border activity. This deal enables an industry-leading Japanese company (Takeda) to widen its expertise to include anti-cancer drugs, an area of special expertise at Millennium. The acquisition is extremely complementary to Takeda's core business in Japan and will be of clear benefit to shareholders.

BEST IPO
Seven Bank's $486 million IPO
Lead managers: Morgan Stanley, Nikko Citigroup, Nomura.

Seven Bank was the largest offering out of the Japanese IPO market last year, and it was a deal worth waiting for -- the biggest since the IPO of Sony Financial in October 2007. The marketing was excellent, with the leads emphasising that the company was not in fact a bank in the normal sense of the world: it is actually an ATM servicing company. Given the poor sentiment prevailing at the time towards financial institutions, the approach made absolute sense. Execution was spotless with the retail and institutional tranches both heavily oversubscribed. The icing on the cake was the fact that the stock traded up in the secondary market -- at a very difficult time for the stock market. It's a pity there weren't more deals just like it.

BEST SECONDARY EQUITY OFFERING
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's $4.5 billion follow-on
Lead managers: J.P. Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Morgan Stanley, Nomura.

This was an incredible transaction by any standards: the biggest follow-on of the year, it enabled MUFG to obtain essential capital at an extremely difficult time for the banking sector. It also helped to lay the basis for the group's acquisition of a path-breaking 22% stake in Morgan Stanley. Interestingly, the deal was also successfully marketed to US retail investors. Since this deal, it has become clear that the banks which did not tap the markets early will suffer for it, so credit to MUFG for getting in first. The deal also traded up in the after-market. This was a transaction with 'historic' written all over it.

BEST M&A DEAL
Takeda Pharmaceuticals' $8.5 billion acquisition of Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Acquirer adviser: UBS Investment Bank
Target adviser: Goldman Sachs

See write-up above under Deal of the Year.

BEST PRIVATE EQUITY DEAL
Carlyle Group's $560 million acquisition of NH Techno Glass
Acquirer adviser: Merrill Lynch
Target adviser: UBS Investment Bank

The demand for LCD TVs is huge, and this deal represented a bold move by Japan veterans the Carlyle Group to capitalise on the market. The second half of last year was not a great time for private equity, but decent deals could still get done, and this has all the hallmarks of such a deal. NH Techno, a maker of glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, was a 50-50 joint venture between Nippon Sheet Glass and HOYA Corporation. Following the transaction, it will be majority owned by Carlyle with HOYA as a strategic partner with a minority stake. The deal closed in the nick of time, in the summer of last year, just as the financing markets became trickier. The deal features a rare alliance between the sponsor and a strategic investor (HOYA). When exit opportunities begin to improve again, this company should go to the head of the queue.

BEST INTERNATIONAL BOND
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's $1.8 billion preferred share issue
Lead managers: Daiwa Securities SMBC, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, UBS Investment Bank

Another important deal, expertly executed in very tough markets was the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group $1.8 billion retail Tier 1 offering, which priced in May last year. The leads managed to generate great momentum, and the deal priced tight to the range, generating a book of almost $5 billion from close to 200 accounts: a tribute to the leads in a market which was showing increasing volatility and where competing supply complicated the deal. The deal ended up going 48% to Asia, 49% to Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with the balance to other regions. The success of the marketing of the retail tranche was reflected in the fact that 68% of the deal went to retail investors.