Noah Carr advises on high-profile corporate transactions in the financial and technology industries in Japan, across Asia, and worldwide.

Mr. Carr leverages commercial sensibility and extensive experience to negotiate complex:

  • Acquisitions
  • Carve-outs
  • Growth equity and venture investments
  • Joint ventures
  • Strategic alliances

He tailors nuanced solutions for strategic and financial M&A based on each client’s specific objectives, bridging the cultural divide between Japanese and US business practice. An effective communicator, Mr. Carr distills and contextualizes complex legal frameworks into pragmatic, market-responsive advice.

Mr. Carr actively participates in firm management and maintains an active pro bono practice, including work on behalf of orphans worldwide. He previously served on the firm’s Global Pro Bono Committee.

Mr. Carr is a registered foreign member of the Dai-Ni Tokyo Bar Association and was previously a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong.

Mr. Carr’s transactional experience includes representing:

Strategic and Growth Equity Investing

  • Block in the:
    • Series B-1 financing of PT Fliptech Lentera Inspirasi Pertiwi, Indonesia’s leading consumer payments platform
    • Series D financing of Kyash, a leading Japanese fintech platform
  • Aspex in its equity investment in Visional, a Japan-based human resources technology business
  • SoftBank in the:
    • US$50 million funding round for Clarity AI, an award-winning sustainability tech firm
    • Multibillion-dollar series of primary and secondary preferred share investments in Bytedance, the developer of TikTok, Douyin, and Toutiao 
    • US$220 million Series C financing for Agile Robots AG, a Chinese precision robotics business organized in Germany
    • US$350 million Series C financing for Trusty Cars d/b/a Carro, a Singapore-based online automotive marketplace 
    • US$1.46 billion investment into the Series H financing round of Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform
    • Carve-out of Xiaoju Kuaizhi (Didi) and subsequent US$150 million fundraising of Qingju, a leading Chinese bicycle-sharing business 
    • Combined US$9.6 billion primary and secondary investments in Didi, which included the largest-ever venture financing and the largest foreign technology investment in China
    • US$1 billion combined financing in OYO Rooms, India’s leading hospitality business
    • Formation of the OYO China and OYO Hotels Japan joint ventures, as well as follow-on restructurings
    • US$7.7 billion primary and secondary investment into Uber*
    • US$627 million investment in Snapdeal, India’s largest online marketplace*
    • US$1 billion investment in Coupang, the fastest growing standalone e-commerce player in Korea*
    • Various investments in Indian technology start-ups, including its US$200 million investment in InMobi, a mobile advertising and payment technology company; as the lead investor in the US$120 million Series C financing of Grofers International, an express delivery online marketplace application; and the US$210 million Series E financing of Ola Cabs, the leading Indian taxi aggregator*
  • Minerva Growth Capital in its minority investment in Roland, a TSE-listed manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software
  • An Asian technology investor in the follow-on Series E financing round (following lead investment in preceding D-1 round) in a leading Asian travel and leisure booking platform 
  • A Japanese pharmaceutical company in its strategic collaboration with, and Series A-1 preferred share investment in, an Israeli medical device start-up 
  • Mistletoe Singapore in:
    • The Series A preferred stock financing of Enhance Experience, a Japanese extended reality technology provider
    • Its Series Seed investment in Kisan Network, a provider of supply-chain technology to Indian farmers
  • Hike Limited, the developer of India’s leading messaging platform, and its Singapore parent in Hike’s initial outside financing, a US$65 million round valuing Hike at US$350 million*

M&A

  • The business combination between Zapp Electric Vehicles, a UK-based, high-performance two-wheel electric vehicle company, and CIIG Capital Partners II, a special purpose acquisition company
  • Warburg Pincus in establishing a US$350 million insurance platform and Oona, a digital general insurance platform in Southeast Asia, as well as in Oona’s initial acquisitions of two general insurance assets in the region
  • Faria Education Group, a leading provider of international education systems and services for learning, admissions, school-to-home, online courses, and study services, in its sale to funds managed by TA Associates
  • ARA Asset Management in its US$1.3 billion joint buyout, together with Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, of Kenedix, one of Japan’s leading real estate fund managers, in a transaction that was recognized as the ALB Japan Law Awards’ Real Estate Deal of the Year
  • Z Holdings in the sale and exchange of its TSE-listed subsidiary eBOOK Initiative Japan and the related restructuring of Z Holdings’ digital comics ventures with NAVER 
  • PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s leading property technology company, in its business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings Limited, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by Richard Li and Peter Thiel
  • Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) in the US$5 billion combination of its securities business, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., with Morgan Stanley Japan to form one of Japan’s largest investment banks*
  • SoftBank in:
    • Restructuring joint venture arrangements, with Yahoo Japan, of PayPay, a Japanese company that develops electronic payment services
    • Its £24.3 billion (US$31.4 billion) acquisition of UK-based semiconductor and software design company ARM Holdings*
    • Its US$21.6 billion acquisition of a 78% interest in US wireless operator Sprint and Sprint’s related acquisition of the approximately 50% equity of Clearwire that Sprint did not already own for approximately US$4 billion*
  • Its two-step acquisition of Miami-based Brightstar, the world’s largest specialized wireless distributor* 
  • Rakuten, Japan’s largest online retailer, in its China e-commerce joint venture with Baidu, the leading Chinese language search and web services company*
  • Toshiba in its arrangements with SanDisk to jointly produce advanced Flash memory, involving a new US$2 billion joint venture and restructuring the parties’ prior Flash memory joint ventures, including Toshiba’s US$1.8 billion acquisition of equipment from the joint ventures* 
  • Alibaba and SoftBank in various restructurings of the Alibaba, Ant Financial, and Alipay financial services businesses*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • Japan (Registered Foreign Lawyer)
  • New York

Education

  • JD, Columbia Law School, 2008
    Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar 2005 - 2008
  • BA, New York University, 2003
Carr, Noah D.
October 21, 2019Recognition

Tokyo Partner Named to 40 Under 40 Asia List

Asian Legal Business recognizes Noah Carr, a corporate partner in Latham & Watkins' Tokyo office, for leading multiple transactions for tech investors.