Herbst Kinsky has advised Viola Investment on its acquisition of a 40% stake in the FK Austria Wien football club.
As part of the transaction, Viola Investment retains an option to further increase its stake in FK Austria Wien with an additional 10.1%.
Herbst Kinsky’s team included Partner Christoph Wildmoser and Attorneys Elisabeth Fitzek and Constantin Hofer.
Herbst Kinsky did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.
Schoenherr has advised Easelink on its EUR 8.3 million Series A financing round. Taylor Wessing advised SET Ventures on leading the round. KPMG Law advised co-investor EnBW New Ventures. Grama Schwaighofer Vondrak reportedly advised co-investor Smartworks.
The financing round also included existing investor Hermann Hauser.
“The funding now received will enable Easelink to further grow its product team, expand collaborations within the automotive and infrastructure industries, and continue working towards the implementation of a global charging standard,” Schoenherr informed.
Founded in 2016, Easelink is an Austrian automated charging solution provider for e-cars. The company’s charging system is in use in several pilot projects, including the eTaxi Austria project for automated charging of taxi fleets in Vienna and Graz. Easelink has offices in Austria and China.
“Automated charging is essential for a future of mobility that is electrified, autonomous, and always connected,” SET Ventures Managing Partner Anton Arts commented. “We support Easelink’s vision to fully integrate electric vehicles into a renewable energy system.”
The Schoenherr team was led by Partner Thomas Kulnigg and consisted of Partner Michael Woller, Counsel Dominik Hofmarcher, and Associates Maximilian Czernin and Dominik Tyrybon.
The Taylor Wessing team included Partner Philip Hoflehner and Senior Associate Allan Hahn.
The KPMG team consisted of Partner Wendelin Ettmayer and Attorney-at-Law Pablo Essenther.
Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Grama Schwaighofer Vondrak confirmed it had advised Smartworks. The firm’s team included Partner Wolfgang Freund and Associate Gregor Biley.
Back in 2007, the foundation for sustainable financing was set through the issuance of a green Climate Awareness Bond by the European Investment Bank. This was in part due to the increased awareness of climate change. By June 2022, Austria wants to issue its first Green Bond. Possible investments for the Green Bond are public transport and renewable energy. Aside from bonds, sustainable financing can be concluded in several other product forms, such as guarantee lines, as well as classic bank loans. The volume of sustainable syndicated bank loans reached EUR 200 billion for the first time, last year.
The Austrian government has committed itself to the greening of the financial sector. To mitigate climate change and to accelerate greening, the Austrian government, as stated in its government program, advocates the introduction of a Green Supporting Factor (GSF) at a European level. The GSF means that banks are required to deposit less equity capital for loans that contribute to the transition to a sustainable climate-neutral economy. According to the government, a GSF will facilitate the granting of sustainable loans and, thus, would help to achieve European climate goals. The GSF is politically controversial though, as it can be seen as a non-risk-based capital requirement.
Furthermore, the Austrian government, as stated in its government program, is intending to facilitate the granting of sustainable loans. Yet, specific implementation measures are still missing. Market practice is already one step ahead of politics at this point. The London-based Loan Market Association, which is responsible for drafting a European market standard for large-volume loan financing, has published guidelines on sustainable loans. The Green Loan Principles (GLP) and Sustainability Linked Loan Principles (SLLP) are meant to provide borrowers and banks with useful guidelines for the arrangement of the documentation of the loan agreement. However, due to their nature as non-binding recommendations, they cannot replace the currently existing legal framework.
Although these two guidelines are similar, they follow different purposes. The GLP focuses on project-related financings, meaning that capital is borrowed for a specific, ecological project. The SLLP, on the other hand, prioritizes the ecological footprint of the company and is, as a consequence, eligible for any form of financing. Therefore, the SLLP is generally suitable for any SME operating an ecological business without the requirement of a link to a specific sustainable project.
In both guidelines, sustainability can be measured using key performance indicators (KPIs). When applying for sustainable financing, companies need to address in advance how they intend to measure their own sustainability performance. To be precise, compliance with KPIs has an effect on the costs of financing, whereby, in financing practice, the interest rate is usually adjusted on the basis of pre-agreed sustainability performance measures. If the KPIs, which are agreed upon individually with the bank beforehand, are achieved sustainability-linked loans are particularly interesting, as a reduction of interest rates can be achieved, irrespective of the purpose of financing. For larger projects, sustainability ratings calculated by rating agencies are typically applied. This results in a score comparable to known credit ratings and, therefore, the sustainability rating can be used when calculating interest rates.
Energy company Verbund AG takes a leading role regarding sustainable financing in Austria. In December 2018, the company concluded the first Austrian syndicated loan that provided for the interest calculation on the basis of ESG criteria only.
The trend of steadily increasing lending volumes for sustainable finance demonstrates that the integration of sustainability KPIs in the assessment of a company’s creditworthiness will play a key role in financings in the near future. This will allow companies that operate an ecological business model or take measures to improve their ecological footprint to benefit from lower financing costs. The positive effects on the reputation of a company that can secure its capital needs through sustainable finance are also worth mentioning.
By Eva-Maria Segur-Cabanac, Partner, and Robert Wippel, Counsel, Baker McKenzie
This Article was originally published in Issue 8.11 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
Eisenberger + Herzog has advised Kommunalkredit Austria on its green hydrogen electrolysis plant investment project.
“Kommunalkredit Austria will build and operate the largest electrolysis plant for green hydrogen in Austria together with a partner in the future. The plant is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2023,” the firm announced. “With its investment … Kommunalkredit is sending a clear signal for the next step in the energy turnaround … The commissioning of the electrolysis plant will lead to significant savings in carbon dioxide emissions and is thus a significant measure against climate change.”
Kommunalkredit specializes in infrastructure and energy financing. The company focuses on energy & environment, communications & digitalization, transportation, social infrastructure, and natural resources.
The E+H team was led by Partners Peter Winkler and Philipp Schrader and included Partner Ulrike Sehrschoen and Associate Niklas Nigl.
E+H was unable to disclose further information on the deal.
Schoenherr, working with White & Case in Frankfurt, has advised the Austrian financial technology company Bitpanda on the expansion of its product portfolio to include exchange-traded cryptocurrencies.
“This product provides investors with easy access to crypto assets via a liquid financial instrument traded on a regulated exchange,” Schoenherr informed. “Bitpanda Bitcoin, the first product launched under this program, is physically backed by Bitcoin, which is securely held at a regulated custodian bank. Bitpanda Bitcoin will initially be traded on the German stock exchange platform Xetra but is expected to be listed on other EEA exchanges in the course of the year.”
Founded in 2014, Bitpanda is a digital asset trading company focusing on cryptocurrencies. It serves more than three million users. The group employs over 600 team members in its Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin, Krakow, London, Madrid, Milan, and Paris offices.
The Schoenherr team was led by Partners Ursula Rath and Christoph Moser and included Counsel Matthias Pressler and Attorney-at-Law Marco Thorbauer.
The White & Case team included Frankfurt-based Partners Karsten Woeckener, Cristina Freudenberger, Sebastian Pitz, and Bodo Bender, Local Partners Julia Sitter, Heinrich Nemeczek, Peter Becker, and Anna Dold, Counsel Alexander Born, and Associates Daniel Sander, Claire-Marie Mallad, Daniel Gillenkirch, and Patrick Schoelles, and Stockholm-based Associates Max Axelsson and Daniel Agnemyr.
Herbst Kinsky has advised GoStudent on its EUR 300 million Series D. On the investors’ side, Wolf Theiss advised Prosus, Schoenherr and Frankfurt’s office of Goodwin Procter advised Left Lane Capital, and reportedly Baker McKenzie advised Tencent.
According to Herbst Kinsky, “the lead investor in this round was Prosus, an investment company listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, which holds participations in Tencent, Delivery Hero, and Mail.Ru Group, among others. In addition to Prosus, existing investors Softbank, Dragoneer, Left Lane Capital, Coatue, and Tencent have also participated in the round; Deutsche Telekom is newly on board.”
GoStudent is a start-up founded in 2016 that operates a learning platform for online tutoring. Tutoring is delivered live in a virtual classroom and booked in a subscription package. Go Student is currently present in around 20 countries with a team of over 1,000 employees and 15,000 tutors.
According to Herbst Kinsky, “this is the largest investment in Austrian start-up history to date. The valuation of the company underlying the round is around EUR 3 billion.”
Herbst Kinsky also advised GoStudent on three past financing rounds: their Series A financing round, two years ago (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 2, 2020), and last year on their Series B (as reported on April 7, 2021), and Series C (as reported on July 01, 2021).
Herbst Kinsky’s team was included Partner Florian Steinhart and Attorney Felix Kernbichler.
Wolf Theiss’ team included Partner Hartwig Kienast, Senior Associates Isabel Firneis and Paulina Pomorski, and Associates Dorothea Rauchegger, Rahim Rastegar, and Clemens Pretscher.
Schoenherr’s team included Partner Thomas Kulnigg and Associate Dominik Tyrybon.
Brandl Talos has advised Mostly AI on its USD 25 million Series B financing round. Molten Ventures led the financing round and was advised by Herbst Kinsky. Reportedly, YPOG advised existing investors Earlybird and 42CAP.
Citi Ventures also participated in the fund.
Mostly AI has, according to Brandl Talos, “pioneered the creation of AI-generated synthetic data. Building on its established leadership in banking and insurance, Mostly AI plans to use the funds to further accelerate its growth in Europe and the US.”
Brandl Talos’ team included Partner Roman Rericha and Attorneys Adrian Zuschmann and Julia Strimitzer.
Herbst Kinsky’s team included Partner Philipp Kinsky and Associates Philipp Herold, Angelika Kurz, Anna Minihold, and Christoph Ludvik.
Strong M&A trends, developing market sectors, and a surprisingly booming economy is what Austria is buzzing about, according to PHH Partner Rainer Kaspar.
“The dip in the M&A market that was present at the beginning of the pandemic has completely disappeared,” begins Kaspar. He reports that the Austrian market has experienced a record year in 2021 and that there is a massive growth trend currently. “It has been quite crazy, across the board, and not even the recent political ups and downs have impacted this,” he says. “The markets have been steadily advancing.”
According to him, companies that have been pulling out less than 24 months ago are now pouring money into the market and acquiring assets. Additionally, he reports that the legislative landscape has remained mostly unchanged, which could be a factor of such steady business development. “The latest material changes to the legal landscape have been the updated FDI rules – but these are old by now,” he says. “There might have been some obstacles that these rules presented – but only time-wise due to the novelty of the law and nature of the notification procedure and it taking a few weeks to complete. The possibility of banning an investment on these grounds has not impacted the market virtually at all.”
Also, Kaspar reports that the merger control framework has been updated somewhat. “The previous wording of the law has provided for a rather low threshold for merger control notification requirements. The updates offered a more focused approach to merger control clearance and competition impediments. Further, more power was given to the competition authorities,” he says.
As for the economy itself, Kaspar says that it is recovering greatly from the brief COVID 19-induced recession pointing to healthcare and IT. “A lot of investor attention has been placed on these two sectors and they have indeed boomed.” Further, he says that he sees the trend of large industrial players divesting non-core assets continuing.
Moreover, Kaspar reports that Austria experienced a high volume of VC transactions lately. “We already have two or three startups that have reached unicorn status and I think that this trend will continue well into 2022.”
Part of the reason why Kaspar believes Austria is such an attractive investment destination is its interests. “While the US FED has recently announced an interest rate increase in an effort to respond to the inflation, this is not something EU countries have done yet and, because this inflation wave has not hit Austria, there is still a lot of cheap money on the market which acts as a perfect catalyst for M&A transactions.” Finally, Kaspar reports that there is a steady trend of an increase in insurance usage in transactions which “only serves to show that Austria is a market of major interest for investors.”
Eisenberger & Herzog has advised Wien Energie on the acquisition of the 51% of the shares in Austrian wind farms Pongratzer Kogel, Herrenstein, and Zagersdorf from wind and solar farm operator Encavis. Taylor Wessing advised the seller.
Wien Energie acquired a 49% stake in the project companies from Encavis in December 2020 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 28, 2020).
According to E+H, “the three wind farms generate a total of 36.2 megawatts. They also reduce the CO2 emissions of the company’s own energy generation by around 14,500 tons per year. The complete takeover means that Wien Energie can now increase its total portfolio by a further calculated 18 megawatts.”
Wiener Stadtwerke subsidiary Wien Energie is a regional energy provider in Austria. The company supplies two million customers with electricity, heating, cooling, electromobility, and telecommunications.
Encavis is a German stock exchange-listed company, producing electricity from renewable energies. The company acquires and operates solar parks and onshore wind parks in ten European countries.
The E+H team included Partners Marco Steiner and Dieter Thalhammer, Attorney Christoph Lejsek, and Associates Daniel Metz, Fabian Larcher, and Matthias Pallisch.
The Taylor Wessing team was led by Partners Philip Hoflehner and Peter Solt.
Schoenherr has advised the managers of the EUR 750 million 0.01 %. mortgage bond security issuance due 2028 and EUR 750 million 0.50 %. mortgage bond security due 2037 by Erste Group Bank AG. Wolf Theiss advised Erste Group on the deal.
The banking consortium included the joint lead managers Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danske Bank A/S, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, Erste Group Bank AG, ING Bank N.V., Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale, and UniCredit and co-lead manager Hypo Noe Landesbank fur Niederosterreich und Wien AG.
According to Schoenherr, the notes were “successfully issued under Austrian law on January 12, 2022, under Erste Group’s Covered Bonds Program and placed with professional clients and eligible counterparties. The notes have a term of six and a half and fifteen years, respectively, have a denomination of EUR 100,000 each, and are rated Aaa by Moody’s. They are admitted to the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange.”
Schoenherr’s team included Partner Christoph Moser, Associate Angelika Fischer, and Lawyer Hubertus Forsthuber.
Wolf Theiss’ team included Partner Claus Schneider, Counsel Eva Stadler, Senior Associate Nikolaus Dinhof-Renezeder, and Associate Dominik Thill.