Mr. Piesner is the head of the firm's Asia Real Estate Practice. Mr. Piesner's practice focuses on the representation of funds, banks, REITs and other institutional clients in all major aspects of real estate-related transactions in Japan and other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including: acquisitions and dispositions; construction and development; financings; fund formation; joint venture arrangements; private equity investments; sale-leasebacks; restructurings and workouts; and real estate related dispute resolution and litigation.
Mr. Piesner has significant experience working with all major asset classes and has particular expertise in hotel/resort, commercial and industrial properties.
Mr. Piesner’s projects include:
- Acting as counsel for ING Real Estate Investment Management in connection with its assumption of management and control of New City Corporation’s US$772,000,000 pan-Asia real estate fund.
- Acting as counsel for Union Investment Real Estate GmbH in connection with its acquisition of multiple properties in Japan.
- Acting as counsel for Kajima Corporation in connection with its sale of the Hualalai Resort (including the Four Seasons Hualalai) on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- Acting as counsel for DEGI in connection with its acquisition of the La Porte Shinsaibashi building in Osaka, Japan.
Representative clients Mr. Piesner has worked with in Japan include AMB Property, DEGI, ING Real Estate Investment Management, Morgan Stanley, RREEF, The Carlyle Group and Union Investment.
Mr. Piesner has lived in Japan for over 12 years and is proficient in spoken and written Japanese.