Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Japanese telecommunications and Internet corporation SoftBank Corp. on a US$100 million investment in Indonesian e-commerce marketplace PT Tokopedia.

The joint investment with American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital in Tokopedia was led by SoftBank and signed on 17 October 2014. The deal would be implemented in two parts—a convertible loan already provided and an equity investment, which will be provided by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.

Established in 2009, Tokopedia provides an online marketplace that allows individuals and businesses in Indonesia to open their own online stores. It has grown rapidly to be the leading online marketplace locally, bringing together buyers and sellers, with sales of more than two million items monthly.

Herbert Smith Freehills advised SoftBank alongside Indonesian associated firm Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjing (HBT). The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by Head of Corporate Practice, Tokyo, Graeme Preston, who was assisted by senior associates Joe Fisher and Lex Papasolomontos, associate Richard Taylor and a SoftBank secondee at Herbert Smith Freehills Tokyo Ed Guttman. Jakarta-based partner David Dawborn and Counsel Vik Tang led on the Indonesia aspects of the transactions; they were assisted by Jakarta based associate Nadia Harto.

Graeme Preston commented:

"We were delighted to help SoftBank on another of its successful ventures into the emerging markets. This transaction was interesting as it was challenging given we negotiated over a tight timeframe. This presented us with the fantastic opportunity to showcase not just our Japan-Indonesia market leading practice but also how our TMT expertise and the efficiency of our cross-border networks can effectively assist clients in brining complex and urgent deals to a close. We certainly look forward to working with SoftBank again on its future business ventures."

David Dawborn commented:

"It was clear through this deal that our long-standing alliance with HBT, delivering international legal services in Indonesia, is an important value-add to our global clients.  There is increasing amount of interest in investing in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets.   Indonesia is the giant in the region, with a huge population and rapidly growing urban middle class.  We have one of the largest and longest standing presences in this region with offices in key jurisdictions, and having been on the ground for so long, we are well placed to provide locally informed end to end legal support to our international clients on their business ventures into this region.”