Hogan Lovells has advised Neopost Japan Inc. ("Neopost Japan"), a subsidiary of Neopost S.A., on its acquisition of the Hasler Division Business from Nisshinbo Postal Chemical Co., Ltd. ("NPC"). The transaction was signed on 30 July 2012 and was successfully closed on 31 August 2012.

The business of the Neopost group centres around mailroom activities as well as developing, manufacturing and selling mail handling equipment, such as franking machines, postage meters, folder inserters, addressing systems, letter opening systems and shipment solutions. The Neopost group is ranked the number one company in Europe and second worldwide in mailroom solutions.

Primarily located in Japan the Hasler Division Business consists of sales, distribution and maintenance of franking machines, tax machines, car tax machines, UL machines, electronic scales and inserters.

NPC is a subsidiary of Nisshinbo Holdings Inc., whose business areas lie in textiles, automobile brakes, paper products, mechatronics, chemicals, electronics and real estate.

This landmark acquisition was part of Neopost group's global expansion plan to optimize its business in Japan.

Hogan Lovells advised on all aspects of the transaction including drafting and negotiating the Japanese-law governed transaction documents as well as conducting legal due diligence.

The Hogan Lovells team advising on the deal was led by Tokyo corporate partner Rika Beppu and supported by of counsel Jacky Scanlan-Dyas, senior associate Yusuke Inui, and associates James Nepaulsingh, Hirotaka Noguchi and Kiyoko Nakaoka.

Commenting on the transaction, Rika Beppu said:

"We are pleased to have assisted Neopost Japan on its landmark acquisition of the Hasler division of NPC. Our relationship with the Neopost group has developed through our work with them in Europe and in Asia, and this Japan deal maximized our strengths in providing international legal support on M&A projects in Japan.

Notwithstanding the strong focus on outbound M&A work stemming from Japan, we are seeing a steady flow of M&A deals in Japan where companies are consolidating their market position."