Category: Austria

Cerha Hempel has advised Flughafen Wien on a joint venture with international logistics company Bradford Airport Logistics to establish Vienna Airport Logistics GmbH. Sidley Austin and Schoenherr advised Bradford Airport Logistics.

According to Schoenherr, “starting in 2027 and made possible through the establishment of Vienna Airport Logistics, all flows of goods for Vienna Airport’s Terminal 3 Southern Expansion and all passenger areas will be efficiently, securely, and sustainably routed through a centralized logistics hub to more than 100 shops and restaurants. Every delivery to the terminals will be conducted via a centralized system, the cornerstone of which will be a 6,000-square-meter logistics center.”

The Cerha Hempel team included Partners Johannes Aehrenthal and Anna Wolf Posch, Counsel Wolfgang Schreiner, Senior Associate Philipp Schaubach, and Associate Thomas Stedronsky.

The Schoenherr team included Partners Michael Marschall, Volker Weiss, Dominik Hofmarcher, Constantin Benes, and Johannes Stalzer, Attorneys at Law Lukas Pirringer, Alexander Pabst, and Franziska Oczlon, and Associates Georg Winkler, Alexandru Caprau, and Laura Zobernig.

Kinstellar has announced Maja Mayrhuber as the fourth Partner to join its new Vienna office.

Mayrhuber’s primary area of focus is tax law. Before joining Kinstellar, Mayrhuber spent the past six years in private practice, since 2019. Earlier, she worked for Binder Groesswang as an Associate between 2014 and 2019. Earlier still, she was a Tax Assistant with Deloitte between 2011 and 2014 and, earlier still, an Assistant with PEEZ Handels between 2009 and 2011.

“We are delighted to welcome Maja to Kinstellar,” commented Firm Managing Partner Kristof Ferenczi. “Her expertise enhances our ability to provide clients with wide-ranging legal support in Vienna. She is an excellent addition to our growing team in Austria.”

The hire follows the recent addition of Hartwig Kienast (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 15, 2025) and Philipp Kapl as Partners (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 7, 2025). Kinstellar launched its Vienna office this year, with Horst Ebhardt at its helm (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 6, 2025).

Taylor Wessing has promoted Carmen Redmann-Wippel to Partner as part of its latest promotion round.

Redmann-Wippel’s core area of focus is banking & finance. She has been with Taylor Wessing since 2023 when she joined as Counsel. Earlier, she was an in-house Senior Legal Adviser with Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank between 2020 and 2023. Earlier still, she worked for Freshfields as an Associate between 2013 and 2017 and as a Senior Associate between 2017 and 2020.

“We are delighted to announce our 2025 cohort of new Partners and Senior Counsel whose expertise and leadership will be focused on delivering the highest levels of service to our clients,” commented Global Co-Chair and UK Managing Partner Shane Gleghorn. “These promotions will significantly strengthen our key practice areas of corporate, disputes, regulatory, IP, patents, real estate, and banking and finance.”

Bernhard Koeck has joined CHG Czernich as a Partner to primarily support the Business Law and Banking & Finance practice groups.

Koeck focuses primarily on litigation. Before joining CHG Czernich, he was a Counsel with Jank Weiler Operenyi | Deloitte Legal between 2018 and 2025 as well as with Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner between 2015 and 2018. Earlier, he worked for BML as an Attorney at Law between 2008 and 2014 and for Wolf Theiss as a Senior Associate between 2002 and 2008. He began his career working for Preslmayr as an Associate between 1999 and 2002.

“With the broad expertise of Bernhard Koeck, we can further expand our consulting services – especially for the financial and energy sector,” commented Managing Partner Dietmar Czernich. “His dynamic and result-oriented consulting approach also fits perfectly with our law firm.”

Wolf Theiss has advised Visma on its acquisition of Finmatics. Brandl Talos advised the sellers.

Finmatics is a provider of pre-accounting software serving more than 1,200 accounting offices, corporates, and SMBs in Austria and Germany.

Visma is a provider of cloud software. It had a reported revenue of EUR 2.8 billion in 2024, employs 16,400 people, and serves over 2 million customers across Europe and Latin America.

According to Brandl Talos, with this acquisition, Visma broadens its core product offering to accountants in the DACH region while Finmatics enhances its market-leading position by leveraging an AI-powered autonomous accounting solution that streamlines and automates financial processes such as invoice handling and cross-system accounting data exchange. 

The Wolf Theiss team included Partners Sarah Wared, Guenter Bauer, and Marika Lomashvili, Counsel Anna Schwamberger, Senior Associates Lukas Ploesch, Vanessa Horaceck, Sarah Haubmann, Phillip Wrabetz, and Roland Vesenmayer, and Associates Nikolaus Wollner, Katharina Johler, and Philipp Richter.

The Brandl Talos team included Partners Roman Rericha and Markus Arzt and Associate Daniel Habich.

Hartwig Kienast has joined Kinstellar’s Vienna office as a Partner. 

Kienast specializes in M&A, private equity, and venture capital transactions, as well as corporate reorganizations. 

Prior to his move, Kienast was a Partner with Wolf Theiss between 2015 and 2025. Before that, he worked at the firm as a Counsel between 2013 and 2015 and as a Senior Associate between 2009 and 2013. Earlier, he worked for BPV Huegel as an Associate between 2007 and 2009 and, earlier still, for CMS as an Associate between 2006 and 2007. He began his career as an Associate with Deloitte Legal where he worked between 2004 and 2006.

“We are delighted to welcome Hartwig to Kinstellar,” commented Firm Managing Partner Kristof Ferenczi. “His solid experience in M&A and private equity, combined with his strong client relationships and reputation, will be invaluable to our growing team in Vienna. His arrival reinforces our strategy to become a leading advisor Austria and the wider CEE region.”

“I am excited to join Kinstellar and contribute to the firm’s dynamic and ambitious growth in Austria and the wider CEE region,” Kienast added. “Kinstellar’s regional platform and strong international focus provide a fantastic opportunity to support clients in complex, high-stakes transactions. I look forward to working with the team and expanding our capabilities in Vienna.”

The hire follows the recent addition of Philipp Kapl as a Partner (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 7, 2025). Kinstellar launched its Vienna office this year, with Horst Ebhardt at its helm (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 6, 2025).

Brandl Talos has advised Highland Europe on leading a EUR 55 million series B funding round for Berlin-based N8N which also saw the participation from HV Capital and previous investors Sequoia, Felicis, and Harpoon. Wuertenberger reportedly advised Highland Europe as well. V14 reportedly advised N8N.

N8N is an AI workflow automation platform for technical teams founded in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser. 

According to Brandl Talos, following a year of explosive growth, N8N has surpassed 230,000 active users and achieved a 5 times increase in annual recurring revenue, paving the way for accelerated enterprise expansion and further community strengthening.

The Brandl Talos team included Partners Roman Rericha and Adrian Zuschmann.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Elevator Ventures on a EUR 1 million investment in Linz-based startup Blockpit. Binder Groesswang advised Blockpit.

Elevator Ventures is the venture capital fund of Raiffeisen Bank International.

Blockpit AG focuses on the taxation of crypto-assets with an established presence in ten countries.

The Herbst Kinsky team included Attorney at Law Carl Walderdorff and Associate Sarah Penker.

The Binder Groesswang team included Partner Christian Zwick and Associate Michael Mittermair.

CMS, working with Pierson Ferdinand, has advised Alder Investment III on the acquisition of a majority stake in Qcify. 

Alder Investment III is a Nordic private equity fund building an ecosystem of technology-driven companies focused on vision-based automation for the food industry through its Austrian-based platform VSG Group.

Qcify is a US- and Belgium-based high-tech company specializing in automated quality control solutions for the global food industry. 

The CMS team included Austria-based Partners Peter Huber, Jens Winter, and Sibylle Novak, Senior Associate Christoph Birner, and Associates Livia Landskron, Thomas Aspalter, Tamina Elbl, and Caroline Pavitsits as well as further team members in Belgium.

CMS did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Cerha Hempel has advised Vienna Insurance Group on a two-fold capital restructuring transaction. Wolf Theiss and Linklaters advised the banking syndicate including BNP Paribas, Erste Group, HSBC, ING, and UniCredit.

According to Cerha Hempel, VIG launched a tender offer on March 25, 2025, for its outstanding EUR 214.4 million subordinated notes due in March 2046 and EUR 200 million subordinated notes due in April 2047. Tier 2 notes totaling EUR 126 million were validly tendered and accepted for purchase by VIG, with settlement taking place on April 7, 2025.

Moreover, Cerha Hempel reports that VIG has, in parallel, successfully placed EUR 300 million in new tier 2 notes, with a ten-year maturity, an initial coupon of 4.625% per annum, and denominated in tranches of EUR 100,000. The notes, listed on the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange, were signed on March 31, 2025, and closed on April 2, 2025. 

The Cerha Hempel team included Partners Volker Glas and Thomas Zivny, Senior Counsel Christian Aichinger, and Associate Sophie Schmid.

The Wolf Theiss team included Partner Claus Schneider, Counsel Eva Stadler, Senior Associate Sebastian Prakljacic, and Associates Rainer Holweg and Magdalena Bertsch.