NTT Corporation’s international and long distance service arm NTT Communications has acquired trans-Pacific undersea cable network operator Pacific Crossing with a view to enhancing connectivity between the US, Japan and the rest of Asia.
NTT Com will acquire 100% of PCL’s outstanding common shares, with the largest shareholder being funds managed by Strategic Value Partners.
NTT Com turned to a Squire Sanders & Dempsey team led by Tokyo-based partners Ken Kurosu and Steven Doi for legal advice. PCL instructed a Latham & Watkins team led by New York partners James Gorton (corporate), Bradd Williamson (employee benefits and compensation), David Raab (tax) and Jeffrey Tochner (intellectual property). The team also included Tokyo-based corporate partner Michael Yoshii, while Washington DC partners Teresa Baer and Tad Lipsky provided regulatory advice.
A K&L Gates team led by Marty Stern and Ken Weiner and an Appleby's team led by Peter Bubenzer also advised PCL. Houlihan Lokey and the Blackstone Group provided financial advice to NTT Com and PCL, respectively.
PCL owns and operates the 21,000km trans-Pacific, subsea fiber-optic network ring PC-1, which connects the US and Japan. It is the second-largest trans-Pacific subsea cable system.