The General Court (GC) of the European Union ruled in favour of Apple in the state aid case regarding Apple's Irish tax structure, annulling the 2016 decision of the European Commission (EC). As a result, Ireland is at present not obliged to reclaim the amount of EUR 13 billion from Apple. The decision is not yet final due to the EC's right to appeal.

In Austria, like in many other countries, the current restrictions due to the COVID-19 situation are causing extensive and opaque changes in social life and related legal issues. Although home office has become well established, it is still associated with limited opportunities for personal interaction. The situation raises many legal questions, one of which is how people can pragmatically conclude or sign a legally effective contract.

On March 11, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Kinstellar had advised Austria’s European City Estates – a group of companies owned by the Austrian Humer Private Foundation – on its acquisition of the 22,000-square-meter Rosum office complex in Bratislava from Penta Real Estate, which was advised by Skubla & Partneri.

Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner has advised a consortium of UniCredit Bank Austria, BAWAG P.S.K, Commerzbank, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberoesterreich, and HYPO Vorarlberg on the reorganization proceedings of the Huber Group, an Austrian lingerie manufacturer.

Brandl & Talos has advised BTOV's Industrial Technologies Fund on its participation in ToolSense's three million euro financing round that also included AWS Grunderfonds, Segnalita Ventures, Martin Global AG, and Dr. Georg Hoblik GmbH.

Wolf Theiss and Linklaters have advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG on the issuance of EUR 500 million worth of additional Tier 1 capital. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised joint lead managers Barclays Bank plc, Goldman Sachs International, J.P. Morgan Securities plc, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, and UBS Europe SE.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Byrd technologies GmbH on a EUR 5 million Series A financing round.

Eisenberger & Herzog has advised Samsung Catalyst Fund, a venture capital fund of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, on an undisclosed investment in the Speedinvest 3 fund, which was advised by Berlin-based Schnittker Mollmann Partners.

Schoenherr has assisted Auer-Blaschke GmbH & Co KG with the registration of its new AUER brand design as a model brand at the Austrian Patent Office.

Weber & Co. has advised Central European University on its July 27, 2020 agreement with the Vienna Business Agency to use the Otto Wagner site in Vienna as the university's new site. Themmer, Toth & Partner advised the Vienna Business Agency.

DLA Piper and Bulgaria's Sabev & Partners law firm have advised the Government of Bulgaria on the concession agreement and the tender procedure for the Sofia Airport in Bulgaria. As previously reported, Kinstellar advised the winning SOF Connect Consortium, which was led by Meridiam and included Munich Airport and Strabag.

Stay informed about the latest developments in competition law in Central and Eastern Europe with Schoenherr's multi-jurisdictional newsletter. Each issue offers insight into developments in merger control, anti-trust, as well as public and private enforcement in the region.

BPV Huegel worked with the Frankfurt office of Herbert Smith Freehills in advising the Heidelpay Group, a German technology company for international payments, on the acquisition of the Paysafe Group’s Pay Later business. Binder Groesswang advised the Paysafe group.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised an international banking consortium consisting of HSBC Bank plc, JP Morgan Securities plc, and Raiffeisen Bank International AG on Uniqua Insurance Group AG's successful issuance of two bonds with a total volume of EUR 800 million. Schoenherr advised Uniqua on the deal.

DLA Piper has advised Austria's Kurant GmbH on the Europe-wide roll-out of its Bitcoin vending machines.

On July 2, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Herbst Kinsky had advised Viennese start-up GoStudent GmbH on its EUR 8.3 million Series A financing round, which was led by VC fund Left Lane Capital. We spoke with Felix Ohswald, CEO of GoStudent, to learn more.

On 15 July 2020 the Austrian Parliament adopted a new FDI screening act (Investitionskontrollgesetz, "ICA"), following the trend to tighten the regulatory framework for foreign investment screening (read more here: Austrian government proposes new FDI screening act). The ICA will enter into force after publication in the Federal Law Gazette. It largely transposes the requirements under the EU FDI Screening Regulation (read more here: A new regulation on FDI screening in Europe).

Eisenberger & Herzog has helped Austrian Airlines on its receipt of State aid amounting to EUR 150 million from the Republic of Austria.