Category: Austria

Cerha Hempel has advised payment and transaction services provider Worldline and its Luxembourg-based subsidiary, Six Payment Services, on the contribution of its merchant services business in Austria to PayOne, a joint venture of the Ingenico Group and Deutscher Sparkassen. Linklaters reportedly advised Worldline in Germany and Luxembourg and Hogan Lovells reportedly advised Deutsche Sparkassen and PayOne.

According to Cerha Hempel, Worldline’s contribution of its business to PayOne came after its successful tender offer for Ingenico Group’s shares and convertible bonds, which closed on October 28, 2020. According to the firm, “following the take-over of Ingenico by Worldline, the German and Austrian business of Worldline (carried out by Six Payment Services and PaySquare) were transferred to PayOne.”

The Ingenico Group is a Paris-based provider of payment services, with over 8,000 employees around the world. Deutscher Sparkassen is a German association of savings banks that operate over 18,000 branches and employ more than 300,000 people.

Cerha Hempel’s team included Partners Benjamin Twardosz, Lorenz Pracht, and Harald Stingl, Senior Associates Andrea Harrich, Christopher Peitsch, and Bernhard Oreschnik, and Associates Julia Digruber and Lukas Krenn.

Brandl Talos has advised Btov Partners on its EUR 1 million investment in Vienna-based startup Visplore. Herbst Kinsky advised Visplore on the deal.

Visplore, a spin-off of the Vienna research center VRVis, focuses on visual analytics solutions that help data scientists in the industrial and energy sectors gain insights from big data generated by machines, sensors, and simulations.

Btov Partners is a venture capital fund focused on digital and industrial technologies. The company has offices in Berlin, Munich, St. Gallen, and Luxembourg, and currently manages assets valued at EUR 450 million.

According to Brandl Talos, Visplore will use the investment to expand its sales, marketing, and development teams in order to further accelerate its growth.

The Brandl Talos team consisted of Partner Roman Rericha, Attorney-at-Law Stephan Strass, and Associate Sonam Schima.

Herbst Kinsky’s team included Partner Philipp Kinsky and Associates Georg Durstberger, Carmen Walser, and Christoph Ludvik.

Former Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich Partner Markus Schifferl has returned to BPV Huegel as Co-Head of Dispute Resolution.

According to BPV Huegel, Schifferl specializes in international and domestic arbitration as well as corporate and commercial disputes before national courts. 

Schifferl has a Magister’s degree in law from the Karl-Franzens Universitat Graz, an LL.M. from UCL, and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna. Before moving to BPV Huegel, he spent a year and a half with Schoenherr, almost nine years with Torggler, and over five years with Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich.

“I am excited to join BPV Huegel, a firm known for its quality leadership, to help shape the dispute resolution practice nationally and internationally,” said Schifferl.

“We are very pleased to have such an excellent and experienced partner join our team,” added BPV Huegel Co-Managing Partner Florian Neumayr. “Markus Schifferl’s expertise is a perfect fit for the entire firm.”

Wolf Theiss has advised the owners of the Janus Group, Vienna-based provider of cleaning services in the hospital sector, on the sale of the company to Germany’s Dussmann Group. Binder Groesswang advised the buyer on the deal.

Through its subsidiaries, the Dussmann Group provides services in the areas of building cleaning, building technology, catering, security and reception services, commercial management, and energy management.

The Wolf Theiss team consisted of Partner Christian Mikosch and Associate Simona Shpilsky.

Binder Groesswang’s team included Partners Thomas Schirmer, Horst Lukanec, Christine Dietz, Clemens Willvonseder, and Philipp Kapl, Attorneys-at-Law Wolfgang Guggenberger and Manuel Mullner, and Associates Nina Niederstrasser and Max Danzinger.

CMS has advised US-based thermal management technology developer Modine Manufacturing Company on the sale of its Europe-based air-cooled automotive business to Austria’s Schmid Metall GmbH. Taylor Wessing advised the buyer.

Schmid Metall is an affiliate of Rupert Fertinger GmbH, a privately held Austrian producer of components for temperature management in vehicles, and power and media-carrying modules, among others. 

According to CMS, the sale of Modine’s Austrian business, which includes its manufacturing facility in Kottingbrunn, will allow the company to further fuel and grow its remaining businesses that provide higher operating margins, lower capital intensity, and greater free cash flow generation. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2021. 

The CMS team consisted of Vienna-based Partners Alexander Rakosi, Johannes Trenkwalder, Dieter Zandler, Andrea Potz, Gabriela Staber, Stefan Paulmayer, and Rainer Wachter, Counsel Hans Lederer, Lead Associate Florian Mayer, Attorney-at-Law Mariella Kapoun, and Associates Christoph Birner, Miriam Baierl, Matthias Emich, and Anna Hiegelsperger, as well as Stuttgart-based Partner Jochen Lamb and Associate Martina Meier-Grom.

Taylor Wessing’s team consisted of Dusseldorf-based Partner Klaus Grossmann and Vienna-based Partners Philip Hoflehner, Andreas Schutz, Martin Eckel, Stefan Turic, and Walter Poschl, Senior Associates Allan Hahn, Andreas Howadt, Matthias Hofer, Philipp Samonigg, and David Konrath, and Associates Constantin Call, Lukas Jamnig, Christopher Bakier, Erik Steiner, Julia Lorincz.

E+H has advised Australian graphic design platform Canva on the acquisition of all of the shares of Austrian visual AI startup Kaleido AI GmbH. KPMG Law advised Kaleido AI and its founders on the deal.

Financial details were not disclosed.

According to E+H, Kaleido AI has succeeded in developing an AI-based “Unscreen” product, which the firm says could become a “game-changer” in the film and television industry. According to the firm, “using a special AI algorithm, users can remove the background from images and videos automatically with unprecedented precision and speed.”

E+H’s team included Partners Philipp Nidal Karaman, Jana Eichmeyer, Judith Feldner, and Helmut Liebel, Attorney Karolin Andreewitch, and Associates Christian Cacic, Michael Lins, William Redl, Michael Staudinger, and Martin Zankl.

KPMG Law’s team included Partner Wendelin Ettmayer, Counsels Karin Bruchbacher and Julia Kusznier, Associate Thomas Androsch, and Junior Associate Pablo Essenther.

Hogan Lovells has advised the HR Group on its acquisition of a hotel portfolio from the Vienna House Group. 

The transaction involves almost half of Vienna House’s hotel portfolio, including, according to Hogan Lovells, 23 German and international hotels, 20 of which are active, and three of which are under development. With the acquisition, the Berlin-based HR Group will operate 75 hotels with more than 12,500 rooms. 

Hogan Lovells’s team included Warsaw-based Counsel Tomasz Zak, Frankfurt-based Partners Matthias Jaletzke, Marc Werner, and Katlen Blocker, Senior Associates Simon Theis and Antonia Degen, and Associates Alexandra Willm and Konstantin Weber, and Dusseldorf-based Partner Mathias Schoenhaus.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, GSK Stockmann announced that it had advised the Vienna House Group on the transaction. The firm’s team included Partners Bernhard Laas and Jorg Kahler, Counsel Wolfgang Jegodka, and Associates Lieor Koblenz and Philipp Dawirs.

PRK Partners, working with Binder Groesswang, has helped American restaurant chain Five Guys open up a restaurant in Vienna.

Five Guys/Five Guys Holding is a US-based fast-food restaurant chain that is headquartered in Lorton, Virginia. The first Five Guys was opened in 1986, and as of 2016, there are more than 1,500 restaurants worldwide.

The PRK Partners team was led by Partner Jakub Lichnovsky and included Attorneys Jan Kromer and Tomas Vlasak. 

Binder Groesswang’s team included Partner Markus Uitz and Associate Artan Duraku.

Schoenherr has advised Linz-based start-up Storyblok on its EUR 7 million Series A financing round. Mubadala Capital, the state investment company of the United Arab Emirates, participated in the current financing round, as did existing investors 3VC and Firstminute Capital, Binder Groesswang advised Mubadala Capital on the deal.

Storyblok was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Alexander Feiglstorfer and Dominik Angerer. According to Schoenherr, “with its platform-independent content management system, the Upper Austrian company is one of the biggest challengers to the prevailing backend systems such as Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore, and WordPress. The investment flows into the further geographical expansion of the company (Germany and Ireland) and ensures the further development of the design system, the launch of a partner program and a geo-location filtering.”

Schoenherr’s team was led by Partner Thomas Kulnigg and included Associates Dominik Tyrybon and Andreas Lengger.

Binder Groesswang’s team included Partners Thomas Schirmer and Christian Wimpissinger, Attorneys Wolfgang Guggenberger, Johannes Bammer, and Philipp Spring, and Associates Felix Fuith, Erik Pinetz, and Alexandra Hochegger.

BPV Huegel has advised the Irish Zeus Packaging Group on the acquisition of Austrian-based food packaging company Petruzalek from Italian investment holding company Italmobiliare. Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli & Partners and Pelzmann Gall Gross — the Austrian office of EY Law — advised the sellers on the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval. 

According to BPV Huegel, Petruzalek has subsidiaries across 12 countries in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. According to the firm, “Petruzalek’s product range utilizes low-environmental-impact renewable, recyclable, and compostable materials that will further deepen Zeus’s focus on sustainability.”

BPV Huegel’s team included Partners Elke Napokoj, Stefan Gaug, Michaela Pelinka, Sonja Durager, and Gerhard Fussenegger, Attorney Walter Niedermueller, and Associate Daniel Grimmer.

Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli & Partners’ team was led by Partner Federico Bal.

Pelzmann Gall Gross’s team was led by Partner Georg Perkowitsch.

Editorial Note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Arzinger acted as Ukrainian advisor to the Zeus Packaging Group, “in particular, [on] obtaining permission to concentrate and financing issues” related to the deal. The Arzinger team was led by Managing Partner Timur Bondaryev, Partner Alexander Plotnikov, and Adviser Anton Molchanov and included lawyers Edem Mensilov and Kirill Senishin.