Category: Austria

Schoenherr has reportedly advised a club of lenders led by Erste Group and including Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit Bank Austria, BAWAG, and Oberbank on a EUR 300 million COFAG-guaranteed and secured financing for Austrian Airlines.

The financing that will be guaranteed by the Republic of Austria to 90% via COFAG (the government agency in charge of administering the Republic of Austria’s COVID-19 rescue fund) is part of the rescue package for the Austrian national carrier.

The Schoenherr team was co-led by Partners Martin Ebner and Wolfgang Holler and included Partners Laurenz Schwitzer, Peter Feyl, and Hanno Wollmann and Associates Stefan Neuwirth, Wolfgang Hellsberg, and Viktoria Stark.

Schoenherr declined to further comment on the transaction.

BPV Huegel has helped Austrian low-cost airline Level Europe GmbH initiate and implement judicial insolvency proceedings at the Regional Court of Korneuburg.

According to bpv Huegel, “although booking figures and revenues developed as expected and as planned in the fourth quarter of 2019 and in the months of January and February 2020, this revenue development was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated entry restrictions and booking slumps. Regular flight operations [have] been suspended since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, an insolvency application was filed.”

BPV Huegel’s team was led by Partners Bernhard Schatz and Elke Napokoj and included Partner Michaela Pelinka and Attorney at Law Walter Niedermuller.

Dorda has advised Eastern Property Holdings on the acquisition of an office building in Vienna. Financial details were not disclosed, and closing remains subject to several conditions.

Eastern Property Holdings is an investment company listed on the SIX stock exchange. The company has a real estate portfolio with a total value of around EUR 1.3 billion. It is managed by Valartis International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valartis Group AG.

The property is located at Lassallestrasse 1, which is part of the Quartier Lassalle, in Vienna’s 2nd district near the city center. The building itself was constructed in 1993 and is currently being renovated; completion is expected in 2022. Once all renovation and construction work has been completed, Dorda reports, the building will have a total of around 29,000 square meters with 150 underground parking spaces and 70 outdoor parking spaces.

Dorda’s team included Partner Stefan Artner and Attorney Magdalena Brandstetter.

Dorda did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Weber & Co has advised OMV AG, the international integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Vienna, on the issuance of two tranches of corporate bonds. White & Case’s Frankfurt office advised joint lead managers Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Erste Group Bank AG, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Mizuho Securities Europe GmbH, and Raiffeisen Bank International AG.

According to Weber & Co, “the transaction in an aggregate volume of EUR 1.5 billion comprises two tranches being issued as of June 16, 2020. Both tranches provide for a volume of EUR 750 million each, one with a three-year term (2023, coupon 0.000%) and the other one with a ten-year term (2030, coupon 0.750%). The bonds are governed by German law and were issued on the basis of OMV’s EUR 12 billion debt issue program. They were admitted to trading on the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange and the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Net proceeds are in particular to be used for the financing of the acquisition of an additional 39% stake in Borealis AG.”

Weber & Co’s team included Partner Christoph Moser and Associate Angelika Fischer.

Matthias Scholz has been re-elected Managing Partner for Baker McKenzie Germany and Austria for an additional three-year term.

According to Baker McKenzie, “Matthias Scholz advises international companies across all industries on all questions of IT law and data protection. He has been a partner since 1997 and led the German/Austrian IT practice group for many years. Matthias also headed the European Information Technology & Communication practice group for more than ten years.”

Scholz is a graduate of the Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne and the University of Freiburg, and he holds an LL.M. from the Tulane University Law School.

“I am very honored by the trust that the partnership has placed in me by re-electing me,” commented Scholz. “Over the past three years, we have achieved a great deal in terms of implementing the firm’s global strategy. We have further strengthened the integration of our lawyers into the international network and can now manage regional and global teams from Germany and Austria even better. We also continued to push ahead with our innovative projects in the areas of digitization and legal tech as well as the expansion of our support centers. The firm is well-positioned to react flexibly to the requirements of the market and our clients and to successfully overcome challenges such as the current COVID crisis.

Wolf Theiss has advised Euronext Amsterdam-listed Royal DSM on its acquisition of the Erber Group, an animal nutrition and health business. Closing is contingent on customary conditions.

Wolf Theiss describes DSM Koninklijke DSM N.V. as “a Dutch multinational corporation active in the fields of health, nutrition, and materials, [that is] headquartered in Heerlen [and] employs around 23,000 people in approximately 50 countries.” According to the firm, “DSM provides nutritional solutions for animal health and human well-being, serving the global feed, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, infant nutrition, dietary supplements, and personal care industries.”

Wolf Theiss’ team included Partners Florian Kusznier, Markus Bruckmueller, Guenter Bauer, Kurt Retter, and Karl Binder, Senior Associate Zeno Grabmayr, and Associates Martina Hiebl, Lukas Slameczka, and Simona Shpilsky.

Wolf Theiss did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Editor’s note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that Cerha Hempel had advised San Pacific Investment and San Venture Biotech, as well as their sole shareholder Erich Erber, the founder of Erber AG, on the sale of Erber to Royal DSM.

Cerha Hempel’s team included Managing Partner Albert Birkner, Partner Bernhard Kofler-Senoner, Senior Counsel Johannes Buchinger, Counsels Wolfgang Sindelar, Michael Mayer, Armin Schwabl, and Katharina Majchrzak, Senior Associates Nadine Leitner, Martin Eichinger, Christopher Peitsch, and Franziska Paefgen, and Associates Alistair Gillespie, Jakob Weber, Zakar Stepanyan, Philipp Schaubach, and Ludwig Hastermann.

Subsequently, on October 5, 2020, Cerha Hempel announced that the deal “has now been successfully completed following approval by the competent competition authorities and the carve-out of the SANPHAR and EFB divisions. According to the firm, Cerha Hempel Partner Albert Birkner assisted “with the acquisition of the SANPHAR and EFB divisions from Erber AG and for obtaining the approval of the competent competition authorities.”

Weber & Co has advised Wienerberger AG, a Vienna-based supplier of building materials and infrastructure solutions, on its June 4, 2020 issuance of EUR 400 million of 2.750% 2020-2025 Bonds. Wolf Theiss advised joint lead managers BNP Paribas, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, and UniCredit on the issuance.

The bonds, which have a denomination of EUR 100,000, a maturity of five years, and an annual fixed coupon of 2.750%, were admitted to the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange. According to Weber & Co., “the proceeds from the bond issue are to be used for general corporate purposes.” The firm also reports that, “due to the high interest from Austrian and international institutional investors, the bond was approximately two and a half times oversubscribed.”

Weber & Co’s team included Partner Christoph Moser and Associates Sebastian Cibulka and Angelika Fischer.

Wolf Theiss’ team included Partner Alexander Haas, Senior Associate Nikolaus Dinhof, and Associate Sebastian Prakljacic.

Fellner Wratzfeld & Partners has supported the biodiversity project known as “Mielo” and donated a large amount of the honey produced through the project to the parish of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

“One of the greatest challenges our society is currently facing is the far-reaching loss of biodiversity with direct, negative consequences for the climate,” explained FWP Partner Markus Fellner. “This is why we carry a responsibility not only towards our clients and employees but, before all, towards our environment. Global warming, volatile water availability and changed stages of development of plants and animals are all consequences of climate change and endanger biological diversity.”

Father Toni Faber of the St. Stephen’s Cathedral expressed his gratitude: “Thanks to this donation, on the one hand we now have an environmentally friendly gift for persons in need and on the other hand, sales proceeds from the sale of the honey will be donated to the parish’s Caritas section.”

Cerha Hempel, working alongside German law firm Menold Benzler, has advised Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co KG on its acquisition of a production facility belonging to Mars Austria OG in the Austrian village of Breitenbrunn. Preslmayr reportedly advised Mars on the deal.

According to Cerha Hempel, “under the terms of the asset deal, Ritter also acquired the Amicelli, Fanfare, and Banjo trademarks. From 2021 onwards, the German chocolate manufacturer will produce Amicelli wafer rolls in addition to various Ritter Sport products at its factory in Breitenbrunn, Austria.”

Mars is the Austrian subsidiary of Mars Inc, a US food company. According to Cerha Hempel, “after the sale, Mars Austria OG will continue to operate at two locations in Austria, one in Vienna and the other in Bruck an der Leitha,”

Cerha Hempel’s team included Managing Partner Albert Birkner, Counsel Michael Mayer, Senior Associates Nadine Leitner and Christopher Peitsch, and Associate Alistair Gillespie.

Preslmayr’s team was led by Partners Rainer Herzig and Oliver Walther and Associates Katharina Zehetner-Siquans and Eszter Toth.

BPV Huegel, working with SIWE Rechtsanwalte Sinzger & Partner, has advised Dogado GmbH — a subsidiary of European Directories — on its acquisition of 100% of the second-largest Austrian hosting provider, Easyname GmbH. Dorda and Rittershaus advised the seller, Easyname’s Founder and Managing Director Florian Schicker, on the deal, and Allen & Overy’s Frankfurt office advised European Directories.

Florian Schicker will remain co-owner and join the leadership team around Dogado CEO Daniel Hagemeier.

Dortmund-based Dogado is a cloud hosting provider for business and private clients and has with its subsidiaries offices in Hanover, Halle, Luebeck, and now also in Vienna. European Directories is a portfolio company of Triton.

BPV Huegel’s team included Partners Thomas Lettau, Gerald Schachner, Sonja Duerager, and Gerhard Fussenegger, and Lawyers Daniel Reiter, Nicolas Wolski, and Paul Pfeifenberger.

Dorda’s team included Managing Partner Axel Anderl, Partners Christian Ritschka, Christoph Brogyanyi, and Thomas Angermair, Lawyers Clemens Burian, Nino Tlapak, and Bernhard Heinzl, and Associates Julia Haunold, Tullia Veronesi, and Guenther Posch.