Gary Mitchel Smith
Gary has 30 years of experience advising clients on cross-border M&A and financing transactions. He has particular experience in the life sciences, tech, and media industries, where he has led on numerous inbound and outbound buyouts, joint ventures, and minority investments. Gary has advised on acquisitions in India, China, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia, as well as in Europe and the United States. He counsels a variety of clients, including Daiwa Securities Group, FUJIFILM, the Hitachi Group, Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities, and Taisho Pharmaceutical.
Gary was born in Japan and is fluent in Japanese. During his law studies at Columbia University, he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar and a recipient of the Recognition of Achievement in International Law, with Honors. Gary also attended the University of Tokyo Graduate School as a Japan Ministry of Education Scholar. He received his B.A. and B.B.A. summa cum laude from University of Washington, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Gary is ranked as a Band 1 leading lawyer by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific for his M&A and corporate law expertise. Gary has also been selected as a Stand-out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters 2023, selected every year for the A-List Japan’s Top 100 Lawyers by Asia Business Law Journal since 2021, and consistently selected as a leading lawyer in M&A and corporate law in Japan by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (Hall of Fame), IFLR1000, and Best Lawyers. In Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) 2023 and 2024, he was selected as Thought Leaders for M&A in Japan.
Experience
Fujifilm’s $2.3 billion acquisition of Xerox’s 25% stake in Fuji Xerox
Represented FUJIFILM Holdings and Fuji Xerox in connection with the acquisition by Fujifilm of Xerox's 25% stake in Fuji Xerox and an acquisition by Fuji Xerox of all of Xerox’s interest in Xerox International Partners, for an aggregate purchase price of $2.3 billion.
Taisho’s $1.6 billion acquisition of UPSA from Bristol-Myers Squibb
Represented Taisho Pharmaceutical in its agreement to purchase UPSA, a French-based pharmaceutical products manufacturer with operations in over 50 countries throughout Europe and Africa, from Bristol-Myers Squibb for $1.6 billion.
Renesas’s $6.7 billion acquisition of Integrated Device Technology
Represented Renesas Electronics Corporation in its $6.7 billion acquisition of NASDAQ-listed Integrated Device Technology (IDT), a market-leading analog mixed-signal company with operations in 22 countries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
rhipe’s cloud-based services joint venture with Japan Business Systems
Represented rhipe Limited, a listed Australian IT and cloud computing company, in its formation with Japan Business Systems, Inc. of a Japanese joint venture company, rhipe Japan K.K.
Water treatment chemicals and facilities transaction
Represented a Japanese water services company in its acquisition of a U.S. water services company.
LED lighting industry transaction
Represented a Japanese manufacturer of LED lighting in machine vision processing, in its acquisition of all shares of a French company and its German subsidiary that specializes in, among other things, the design and manufacturing of LED lighting systems for machine vision, scientific imaging and biomedical measuring devices.
Renesas’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Intersil
Represented Renesas Electronics Corporation in its $3.2 billion acquisition of 100% of U.S. semiconductor developer Intersil Corporation, a leading supplier of semiconductors to the automotive industry with operations in 13 countries throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S.
Industrial machinery transaction in UK
Represented a leading packaging container manufacturer in Japan, in its acquisition of a UK-based manufacturer of industrial machinery with subsidiaries in the UK and Poland.
Hitachi’s $1.245 billion acquisition of the Sullair brand air compressor manufacture and sale business
Represented Hitachi, Ltd., in its $1.245 billion acquisition of the Sullair brand air compressor manufacture and sale business with operations in 17 countries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Daiwa Securities’ acquisitions of Sagent and Signal Hill
Represented Daiwa Securities Group Inc., a global financial services company, in its acquisitions of U.S. based investment banking firms, Sagent Holdings, Inc. and Signal Hill Holdings LLC.
Taisho Pharmaceutical’s strategic alliance and acquisition of stake in DHG Pharmaceutical
Represented Taisho Pharmaceutical in its acquisition of a minority stake in DHG Pharmaceutical, the largest Vietnamese pharmaceutical company.
NICHIAS’ acquisitions of Nippon Reinz
Represented NICHIAS Corporation in its acquisition of all outstanding shares of Nippon Reinz Co., Ltd. from Reinz-Dichtungs-GmbH and Mitsubishi Cable Industries, Ltd.
Tanaka Kikinzoku’s acquisition of Metalor Technologies
Represented Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, a Japanese company specializing in precious metals refining and fabrication, in its acquisition of Metalor Technologies International, a Swiss-based precious metals company with subsidiaries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Fujifilm’s acquisition of Cellular Dynamics International
Represented FUJIFILM Holdings in its acquisition of NASDAQ-listed Cellular Dynamics International, a leading U.S.-based developer and manufacturer of fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities.
NGK’s acquisition of Wells Manufacturing
Represented NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. in its acquisition of U.S.-based vehicle electronics manufacturer Wells Manufacturing LP from UCI Holdings Limited.
Rankings
Thought Leaders - M&A and Governance
Who’s Who Legal 2024
Highly Regarded in Japan: M&A
IFLR 1000 2011 - 2024
Band 1 for Japan: Corporate/M&A
Band 1 for Japan: Corporate/M&A
Hall of Fame for Japan: Corporate/M&A
Stand-out Lawyers
Thomson Reuters 2023
Corporate and M&A Law
Named to the A-List: Japan’s Top 100 Lawyers
Asia Business Law Journal 2021-2024