Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Mitsui & Co., Ltd. on its acquisition of a 25% equity interest in international student recruitment and consulting company QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited (QS).

Headquartered in the UK, QS manages foreign student recruitment and provides globalization consulting services to universities and business schools in around 70 countries worldwide.

Partners Lex Papasolomontos in Tokyo and Gillian Fairfield in London advised longstanding client Mitsui, assisted by Lisa Tat and Shaun Lee.

"We are delighted to have assisted Mitsui in the expansion of its education sector portfolio through this acquisition," said Lex.  "It is another example of our excellent cross-border M&A offering, with Tokyo and London teaming up to support Japanese outbound investment."

Gillian commented: "Education provision and consulting is growing rapidly, and many multinationals are now investing in the best companies to build sophisticated networks in what has rapidly become a high-value area of business."