With artificial intelligence dominating tech conversations over the last year and with a draft AI Act being looked at by the EU, CMS Partners Dora Petranyi, Gabriela Staber, Klaus Pateter, and Olga Belyakova look at where AI is today and how European legislation might impact its future.

At the end of May 2023, the Austrian Ministry of Finance issued a new draft law. The Start-Up Promotion Act is intended to create a new regulation for start-up employee shareholdings that should apply to shares surrendered on or after January 1, 2024.

Binder Groesswang has advised Anadi Bank on transferring its Carinthian branches with around 42,000 retail customers, 250 SME customers, and a business volume of just under EUR 1.7 billion to Grawe Banking Group's Bank Burgenland. E+H advised Grawe.

Slovakia-headquartered GHS Legal has announced it is changing its name to FairSquare.

Binder Groesswang has advised Bosch Power Tools on the acquisition of 49% of the shares in FerRobotics Compliant Robot Technology from Ronald Naderer and Berndorf. Denkmair Hutterer Huettner Waldl reportedly advised the sellers.

Schoenherr has advised Kommunalkredit Austria on a EUR 25 million loan to the INVL Renewable Energy Fund I to finance the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of 51 megawatts in Romania. Glodeanu & Partners advised the INVL fund. Sorainen reportedly advised Kommunalkredit as well.

Schoenherr has advised Ceres Pharma on the acquisition of the Hungarian pharmaceutical companies VitaPlus and Innopharm, including their Innopharm Austrian subsidiary.

Wolf Theiss has advised AMS-Osram on the implementation of the company's refinancing plan with a volume of approximately EUR 2.2 billion.

Brandl Talos has advised Pride Capital Partners on its acquisition of a minority stake in the Rubicon Group.

Schoenherr, working with Walder Wyss and the Law Office of Loren Richards, has advised Raiffeisen Bank International on its EUR 31 million project financing to borrower Energy Financing Team SE Bileca to develop a 60-megawatt solar power plant in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Squire Patton Boggs and 42Law have advised Inven Capital on co-leading the EUR 8.5 million series A investment round of Hydrogrid, alongside Karma Ventures. Cobalt advised Karma Ventures. Herbst Kinsky advised Hydrogrid.

The UK has not been a member of the European Union and thus of the comprehensive European framework for cross-border civil litigation since 1 January 2021. Within the EU, the Brussels I Recast-Regulation (Regulation [EU] 1215/2012) not only provides a set of common rules on the jurisdiction of the courts but also ensures rapid and simple recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters issued in the Member States. Under the Brussels I Regulation, judgments are enforceable without any declaration of enforceability. A judgment rendered in France or Romania can be enforced in Austria without much trouble and vice versa.

On 15 December 2023, Austria's National Council of the Parliament (lower house) adopted the Flexible Company Act (Flexible-Kapitalgesellschafts-Gesetz, FlexKapGG), which introduces a new company form, the "Flexible Company" (FlexCo) as of 1 January 2024.

Cerha Hempel, working with the Italian offices of K&L Gates, has advised the EBRD on the sale of a 15% stake in Erste Bank Hungary to the Erste Group Bank. Addleshaw Goddard reportedly advised the Erste Group Bank.

Former Wolf Theiss Partner Marcell Nemeth has joined DLA Piper’s Finance, Projects & Restructuring practice as a Partner in the firm's Vienna office.

Wolf Theiss, working with Ropes & Gray, has advised drug development contract research organization QPS Holdings on the full sale of its QPS Neuropharmacology business unit to Scantox. Dorda, working with Denmark's Accura, advised Scantox.

Binder Groesswang has advised fire, flame, and gas safety solution provider the Consilium Safety Group on its full acquisition of Radicos Technologies from the company's founders and financial investors.

With CMS’s recently published European M&A Outlook report taking the temperature of the M&A activity across the continent, CMS Romania Managing Partner Horea Popescu and CMS Vienna Partner Alexander Rakosi share their insights on M&A trends in the CEE region.