Daniel Lin

DANIEL LIN is a co-managing partner of Sidley’s office in Tokyo and his practice focuses on energy, infrastructure and general corporate transactions.

He regularly advises utility companies, trading companies, EPC, general corporate and financial institutions on developing, acquiring, and disposing energy and infrastructure-related projects, including conventional power and renewable energy projects. Daniel also has extensive experience advising lenders on financing the development and acquisition of these projects. In addition, Daniel is active in advising on Japan out-bound and in-bound M&A transactions in a number of other sectors.

Daniel’s experience in project and energy matters has been highly valued by clients and he has been recognized by Chambers Global (2017–2024) and Chambers Asia Pacific (2017–2025) for Projects & Energy: International, and Legal 500 Asia Pacific in the foreign lawyer league table in Japan. In the 2025 edition of Chambers Asia Pacific, clients commented that “Daniel is a very thoughtful lawyer who has always gone the extra mile for us. Being commercially sensitive and technically competent, he is a joy to work with,” and “Mr. Lin has a sophisticated ability to offer us comprehensive legal support for our deals.”

Daniel speaks fluent Japanese and Chinese.

Select M&A and General Corporate Representations

• A Japanese electric utility on its first investment in a greenfield offshore windfarm in Europe.
• A Singapore based conglomerate as part of a consortium’s bid to import renewable energy to Singapore.
• A Japanese investor on the restructuring of its LNG assets in the US.
• A Japanese electric utility on its investment (with other consortium members) on electricity transmission assets for two offshore windfarms in the UK.
• A US-listed crypto-mining company on developing two greenfield data centers in Central Asia powered by hydroelectricity.
• Japanese investors on acquiring a US technical consulting company servicing the renewable energy sector.
• A Singapore electric utility on the sale of over 2GW of coal-fired power assets in India.
• An Asian consortium’s bid to acquire a U.S. oil major’s geothermal assets in Indonesia and the Philippines as part of an auction process.
• A Chinese EPC on its equity investment in a greenfield geothermal project in Kenya.
• Japanese utilities and trading companies on over 15 investments in greenfield and brownfield conventional and renewable power projects across North America, South America, and Asia.
• A listed Japanese corporate’s investments in (i) an energy efficiency consulting company in the U.S., (ii), a financial conglomerate based in Central Asia, and (iii) an aquaculture business with operations in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia.
• A Chinese sovereign wealth fund’s investment in 15 logistical properties in Japan.

Select Financing Representations

• Project debt restructuring with respect to an Australian and Brazilian sponsors’ mining project in Brazil.
• Lender consortium, including a Japanese ECA on a US$1 billion financing of the world’s largest commercial post-combustion carbon-capture facility in Texas, sponsored by a U.S. utility and a listed Japanese energy company.
• Asian ECAs and commercial lenders on project financing for over 10GW of independent power projects in Indonesia sponsored by Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and other sponsors.
• Japanese commercial lenders on the financing of an undersea cable project connecting South-east Asian countries and the West Coast of the United States.
• Japanese lenders on financing a US$1 billion methanol plant in Trinidad and Tobago sponsored by Japanese and local sponsors.
• A Japanese ECA on (i) the mezzanine financing of a Japanese sponsor’s equity investment in a mining project in Madagascar, and (ii) restructuring of the same project.
• An international investment bank and a Japanese leasing company on: (i) the risk participation financing for the purchase and resale of semiconductor manufacturing, testing and packaging equipment, and (ii) limited recourse financing for the acquisition and on-lease of second hand mobile handsets.
• A Singapore lender on a US$140 million holdco refinancing for an Indonesian agricultural-business group.
• A French lender on two yen-denominated syndicated corporate loans to an aviation leasing company based in the U.S.
• A Japanese debt investor on acquiring two distressed debt portfolios owed by subsidiaries sponsored by a U.S. private equity fund.
• A Japanese lender consortium on a US$980 million holdco-level financing of a Japanese trading company’s investment in a deepwater drillship, which is leased to a Brazilian counterparty via various back-to-back novation arrangements.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

• Advised a South Korean and a Kenyan company on structuring the importation of environmental-friendly/carbon credit-eligible cooking stoves from Korea to Kenya.
• Advised an Kenyan company on the regulatory aspect of importing avocado oil into Japan.
• Advised on the equity and debt financing options for an Indian company that produces eco-friendly, compostable sanitary hygiene products using locally sourced banana fiber.