Category: Austria

Herbst Kinsky, working with Frankfurt-based Skye Partners, has advised Invision AG on the acquisition of the Austrian EduPRO Group from Luxempart German Investments S.A. Orrick’s Dusseldorf office reportedly advised EduPRO on the deal.

The acquisition was carried out together with the management of the eduPRO Group. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by the Austrian and German antitrust authorities.

According to Herbst Kinsky, “since its foundation in 1997, Invision AG, based in Switzerland and Germany, has successfully developed into one of the leading investment companies for corporate succession and growth financing for medium-sized companies in Europe. During this time, Invision has invested in over 60 companies and achieved a sustainable increase in value.”

The EduPRO Group, headquartered in Vienna, operates in the field of further education and qualification as well as adult education. The group primarily offers services for vocational qualification measures in Austria, Hungary, and Germany. 

Herbst Kinsky’s team was led by Partner Christoph Wildmoser and included Attorneys Carl Walderdorff, Valerie Mayer, Constantin Hofer, and Christoph Ludvik and Assocaites Beatrice Bluemel, Elisabeth Fitzek, Matthias Konrad, and Anna-Maria Minihold.

Eisenberger + Herzog, working with Allen & Overy Germany, has advised the Riverside Company on the acquisition of GFP Handels by its portfolio company Toolport. V. Keussler Rechtsanwalte and GDB Rechtsanwalte reportedly advised the seller.

Riverside is a New York-headquartered global private investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market. Riverside portfolio company Toolport is an online provider of professional tents and spare parts for the consumer and industrial markets.

GFP is greenhouses, raised garden beds, and related products online provider in the DACH region.

“The acquisition of GFP marks a significant strategic step for Toolport, increasing the company’s addressable market and serving as a blueprint for further inorganic growth through add-on acquisitions,” Riverside Europe Partner Peter Schaberger commented. “Toolport and GFP together face an exciting future and we believe a lot of untapped growth potential ahead.”

The E+H team was led by Partner Philipp Nidal Karaman and included Partners Karolin Andreewitch-Wallner, Andreas Zellhofer, Helmut Liebel, Christopher Engel, Ulrike Sehrschoen, Judith Feldner, and Marcus Benes, Attorneys-at-Law Florian Sagmeister and Karoline Hofmann, and Associates Martin Zankl, Laura Glibusic, Vincenz Stockert, Daniela Birnbauer, Maximilian Kroepfl, Agnieszka Blonska, and Christian Cacic.

The Allen & Overy team was led by Partner Astrid Kruger, Senior Associate Tobias Hugo, and Associate Johannes Grassl and included Partners Thomas Neubaum and Boerries Ahrens, Counsels Jan-Hendrik Bode and Sebastian Schulz, and Associates Hans-Joachim Jahnichen and Soeren Burdinski.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, GDB Rechtsanwalte confirmed that it had advised GFP Handels. The firm’s team included Partners Bernhard Gumpoldsberger, Christoph Doppelbauer, and Thomas Bittermann, and Associate Sladana Bjelic.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Rendity and United Benefits Holding on up to EUR 10 million bond issuance.

Rendity “took the lead in drafting the bond terms and conditions and the corresponding capital market prospectus for United Benefits Holding,” according to Herbst Kinsky. “The bond will be issued in Austria and Germany. The bond will be offered by Rendity Securities, acting as a contractually bound agent of a securities firm in Germany.”

Rendity is a Vienna-based start-up enabling online real estate investments. The company offers private and institutional investors real estate projects in urban locations.

United Benefits Holding is a real estate-related service provider. Together with its subsidiaries, the holding initiates, develops, realizes, and manages real estate investments in the DACH region.

The Herbst Kinsky team was led by Partner Florian Steinhart and Attorney-at-Law Johannes Frank and included Attorney-at-Law Magdalena Wagner and Associates Carmen Walser and Irmgard Nemec.

Herbst Kinsky was unable to disclose further information on the deal.

Florian Stefan has been promoted to Partner at Vavrovsky Heine Marth attorneys at law. 

Specializing in arbitration, Stefan joined Vavrovsky Heine Marth in 2017, as an Attorney. Prior to that, he spent two years with Schoenherr as an Associate. He holds an LLM from the University of Vienna and an LLM from LSE.

“Florian has been instrumental in developing the international arbitration practice at VHM with tireless dedication,” commented Founding Partner Nikolaus Vavrovsky. “He develops and leads team members and we are fortunate to get a partner with such outstanding expertise.”

“Being promoted to partner is a big and important step in my professional career,” Stefan added. “Together with the fantastic team and Nikolaus, I want to further develop our arbitration practice in the coming years.”

PHH has advised the MM Group on a EUR 65 million syndicated loan for the reconstruction of the cardboard machine at its Neuss site. Noerr’s Frankfurt office reportedly advised IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG on the deal.

The MM Group is a cardboard, paper, and folding carton manufacturer.

According to PHH, “the syndicated loan, certified as sustainable under the Green Loan Framework, is based on the strict rules of IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau. The decisive factor for the certification was the sustainable investment at the Neuss site for the rebuild of the board machine. This is the first financing in the MM Group classified as green.”

According to PHH, on the MM Group side, the transaction was led by Head of Corporate Treasury Gernot Bauer, Manager Financial Exposure Martin Cvejkus, and Head of Group Legal Elvira Schmid. 

PHH’s team was led by Partner Wolfram Huber and included Lawyer Lisa Urbas.

Binder Groesswang has advised Cryoshelter GmbH on the entry of Hexagon Composites ASA into its liquid natural gas business segment and the entry of Hexagon Purus ASA into its liquid hydrogen business segment via a minority shareholding with an option for acquiring all shares. SCWP Schindhelm advised Hexagon on the deal.

Cryoshelter is an LNG tank technology company founded in 2008 in Austria. The company has developed and patented a technology for heavy-duty trucks and buses using cryogenic storage solutions for liquid natural gas and liquid hydrogen.

Hexagon Composites is a manufacturer of composite LPG cylinders.

According to Binder Groesswang, “the objective of Hexagon Composites ASA and its subsidiary Hexagon Purus ASA is to aid the commercialization and industrialization of Cryoshelter’s expertise in developing cryogenic tank technologies for liquid natural gas and liquid hydrogen through additional financing. Liquid natural gas is deemed to be a possible interim solution for increasing the energy independence of Europe.”

Binder Groesswang’s team was led by Partner Florian Khol and Attorney Christoph Schober and included Partner Clemens Willvonseder, Attorneys Regina Kroell, Sabine Apfl-Trompeter, and Manuel Muellner, and Associate Valentina Hekele.

SCWP Schindhelm’s team included Vienna-based Managing Partner Immanuel Gerstner and Partners Lukas Leitner and Philipp Reinisch, Wels-based Partner Roland Heinrich, and Brussels-based Partner Christina Hummer.

Schoenherr, working with Hannes Snellmann, has advised HS Timber Group on the acquisition of Luvian Saha. Castren & Snellman reportedly advised the seller.

HS Timber Group is a Vienna-based wood processing company, active in the timber industry and in the bioenergy sector in the CEE region. The group exports its products to 70 destinations.

Operating in the wood processing industry, Luvian Saha is sawn and other processed products provider in Finland. 

Schoenherr previously advised HS Timber on the sale of the Interfloat Corporation and Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg to Borosil Renewables (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 5, 2022).

The Schoenherr team was led by Partners Christian Herbst and Maximilian Lang and included Associate Markus Fasching.

Brandl Talos has advised Austrian start-up Fretello on its EUR 3 million seed financing round.

“In addition to the existing investors, which include Runtastic co-founder Alfred Luger, HightechFonds, and Pioneers Ventures, the Finnish VC fund Sparkmind, Tractive co-founders Michael Tschernuth and Michael Lettner, and other investors also participated in the new financing round,” Brandl Talos informed.

Fretello is a Linz-based educational technology start-up operating as a digital guitar learning app. The start-up can be used on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to analyze aspects such as pitch, tempo, and playing technique.

“It’s always a roller coaster ride, even if you can show excellent growth and very good key performance indicators like Fretello,” Fretello Co-Founder Florian Lettner commented. “That’s why it is even more important to have reliable and experienced business angels on board who will have your back when unexpected things come up. After an exciting year, we are very happy now. We expect valuable strategic support for further growth from the entry of Sparkmind and the European Super Angels Club.”

The Brandl Talos team included Partner Markus Arzt, Attorney-at-Law Adrian Zuschmann, and Associate Elena Ciresa.

Cerha Hempel, working with Clifford Chance Germany, has advised RHI Magnesita on its recycling and disposal joint venture with the Horn & Co Group. Oppenhoff reportedly advised Horn & Co.

According to Cerha Hempel, “RHI Magnesita and the Horn & Co Group have combined their recycling activities in Europe to increase the production, use, and offering of secondary raw material for the European refractory industry targeting a substantial reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. In the future, the newly created joint venture will operate as Horn & Co RHIM Minerals Recovery.”

RHI Magnesita is an Austria-headquartered supplier of high-grade refractory products, systems, and solutions for a range of industries including steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, and glass. The Horn & Co Group is a German company specializing in the fields of processing, disposal, control, analysis, and sales.

“This partnership will position the future company at the forefront of the circular economy for customers in the steel, cement, glass, and other process industries,” Cerha Hempel informed. “As a result, RHI Magnesita’s ambitious plans to globally increase the recycling rate in its products from below 3% in 2020 to more than 10% in 2025 can be achieved earlier – marking an important step towards a targeted 15% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025.”

The Cerha Hempel team included Partner Anna Wolf-Posch, Counsel Michael Mayer, and Associate Zakar Stepanyan.

Schoenherr has advised the HS Timber Group and Blue Minds on their sale of the Interfloat Corporation and Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg to Borosil Renewables.

Closing is expected in the first half of 2022, pending regulatory approval.

The HS Timber Group is a Vienna-based wood processing company active in the timber industry and in the bioenergy sector in the CEE region.

The Blue Minds Group is a private equity group specializing in the energy and infrastructure sectors. The group operates from Vienna, Munich, and Tel Aviv.

Liechtenstein-based Interfloat and Germany-based GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg specialize in the production and distribution of solar glass and special types of glass for photovoltaic applications and greenhouses.

Borosil Renewables is an Indian Stock Exchange-listed company specializing in the manufacture of low-iron-textured solar glass for applications in photovoltaic panels, flat-plate collectors, and greenhouses.

“Borosil Renewables is a global innovation leader in the more sustainable production of solar glass,” Interfloat Group Administrative Board President Christian Kern commented. “Strong international investors can safeguard this production site in Europe – making an essential contribution to the independence of our continent. After all, European industry is suffering from massive energy price increases. Not only the preservation but the massive expansion of green energy production in Europe is needed.”

Schoenherr also advised the HS Timber Group and Blue Minds on their 2020 acquisition of Interfloat and GMB (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 20, 2020).

The Schoenherr team was led by Partners Christian Herbst and Maximilian Lang and included Partner Volker Weiss and Associate Markus Fasching.

Schoenherr was unable to disclose further information on the deal.