Norihito Yagi - april 2019 —Roy Strom Japanese regulators were adverse to adverse to were Japanese regulators - Kra Rival private equity firm Kohlberg - in the face of all this opposi And yet, to tech mostly, He was referring, the concerns of its deal cured The At times, it must have felt like half the the half like felt have must it times, At against Ropes & world was conspiring Will and Imai Tsuyoshi partners Gray client Bain Shields and their longtime to acquire Capital in its attempt Memory Corp. only entity buying the country’s a foreign crucial producer of NAND memory chips, Chi- smartphones and tablets. for today’s a trade of midst the in regulators, nese were Trump, Donald war with President Bain’s were And then there reluctant. crown Toshiba’s for bidders competing compa- the sale of which was the asset, ticket to staying out of bankruptcy. ny’s make a teamed up to vis Roberts & Co. which al- Corp., bid with NAND chips through Toshiba’s sold ready a of basis the was that venture joint a lawsuit Digital Western stop to seeking from selling to a competitor. Toshiba “Nobody could afford Shields says, tion, to have this deal not happen.” companies that use NAND chips in their bid Bain’s those companies, For products. robust competition in an more ensured Imai And so Shields, small market. already its into companies those pulled and Bain Apple Inc., securing financing from bid, Technologies, among others. Technology, and Kingston one-time antagonists by keeping a Japa- nese company in the ownership group Western Digital law- the and by resolving impri country’s the , for As suit. matur was the final hurdle, and it came and it came matur was the final hurdle, at a time when a confidant of Chinese Washington Xi Jinping was in President dispute. discussing the trade

Ropes & Gray of the the of year to have this deal not to have this deal not “Nobody could afford “Nobody could afford happen,” Shields says. happen,” Tsuyoshi Imai shi Imai Tsuyo Further duplication without permission is prohibited. For information, contact 877-257-3382 or [email protected]. # 001-03-19-03 contact 877-257-3382 or [email protected]. information, For Further duplication without permission is prohibited. and Will Shields Reprinted with permission from the April 2019 edition of THE AMERICAN LAWYER © 2019 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. LLC. ALM Media Properties, © 2019 AMERICAN LAWYER THE April 2019 edition of Reprinted with permission from the

, left, and left, ,

Will Shields 2019 Dealmakers 2019 americanlawyer.com