August 2014 — A global team of Bingham lawyers represented Hitachi Metals Ltd. as it agreed to acquire Wisconsin-based Waupaca Foundry Inc. from KPS Capital Partners LP for $1.3 billion. Waupaca has six foundries in the United States and is the world’s largest supplier of iron castings for automotive and industrial use.

The purchase is reported to be the largest ever for Hitachi Metals, a Japanese specialty metals producer. The cross-border Bingham team was led by Tokyo-based partner Len Matsunaga. In Tokyo, the team included partners Goh Aizawa and Yuri Ide, counsel Takahiko Itoh, associate Junji Shiraki, and senior consultant Minori Kamiya, with support from partner Chris Mizumoto and associate Aya Takahashi.

In Los Angeles, the team included corporate partner Janice Liu; New York labor and employment partner Doug Schwarz; Washington antitrust partner Leiv Blad; Washington corporate partner Carl Valenstein; London antitrust partner Davina Garrod; New York employee benefits of counsel Jill Weintraub; New York real estate of counsel Peter Batten; Washington corporate of counsel Rebecca Hartley; New York tax and employee benefits counsel Tom Gray; Washington antitrust counsel Zarema Arutyunova; Boston environmental counsel Bill Squires; and associates Nathan Hagler, Katherine Kimball, Tiffany Hsu and Carrie French.