Green energy and ESG will be a significant focus in the coming year in Austria, with a slight upward trend expected in restructuring, alternative finance, and regulatory work, according to Wolf Theiss Banking & Finance Partner Andrea Gritsch.

Klara Kiehl, Clemens Rainer, Sascha Schulz, and Marco Thorbauer have been appointed as Schoenherr Partners in Austria, while Serbia's Jelena Arsic, Jovan Barovic, and Dusan Obradovic, Bulgaria's Tsvetan Krumov, and Hungary's Laszlo Krupl have all been appointed as Local Partners with the firm.

Christopher Peitsch, Jakob Hartig, and Christoph Reiter have been promoted to Partners at Cerha Hempel in Austria.

Schoenherr has advised Gropyus on its EUR 100 million Series B financing round led by Vonovia. Cerha Hempel advised Vonovia.

On January 4, CEE Legal Matters reported that Dorda, working with Loyens & Loeff, had advised Croma-Pharma on entering into a business combination agreement with the European Healthcare Acquisition & Growth Company. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Andreas Prinz, Managing Director at Croma Pharma, to learn more about the deal.

Cerha Hempel has advised ARE Austrian Real Estate on the acquisition of an office and hotel building in Vienna from Generali Real Estate. Schoenherr advised Generali.

Dorda, working with Grub Brugger, has advised ZF Friedrichshafen on its acquisition of insolvent tachograph developer Intellic Germany along with its insolvent Austrian assets. Held Berdnik Astner & Partner reportedly advised the seller.

Former Attorney-at-Law Lisa Haslinger has been promoted to Partner at Vavrovsky Heine Marth in Vienna.

Cerha Hempel has advised Stadlmann TEC on its joint venture with The Specialist Group International resulting in the incorporation of Star Stadlmann. BPV Huegel advised TSGI on the JV deal and on the acquisition of Stadlmann TEC’s personnel leasing division.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised KGAL Investment Management on the sale and leaseback arrangements for three Airbus A220-300 aircraft with Air Baltic.

E+H has advised Wienerberger on its acquisition of the Terreal operations in France, Italy, Spain, and the US together with the Creaton business in Germany and Benelux from France's Terreal Group. Latham & Watkins, Advant, Garrigues, Masotti Cassella, Holland & Knight, and Stibbe reportedly advised Wienerberger as well.

Schoenherr, working with Germany's Zinger Strachwitz, has advised the shareholders of the FirmenABC Group on their exit to Austrian investor consortium Invest AG and Industrieliegenschaftenverwaltung AG. Wildmoser/Koch and Tracc Legal reportedly advised the buyers.

BDK Advokati, Binder Groesswang, and Lakatos Koves & Partners, working with SZA Schilling Zutt & Anschuetz, have advised Turkish investors Baran Celik and Nuvit Gundemir and their families on the sale and purchase agreement with insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner to acquire Veritas Group's subsidiaries in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Turkey, and Hungary and three production plants in Germany. 

On 28 November 2022, the European Commission published its proposals for a Regulation amending Community Design Regulation No 2/2006 as well as a proposal for an amendment of the Community Design Directive.

On December 28, 2022, Baker McKenzie announced that Accenture’s takeover of ARZ Allgemeines Rechenzentrum (reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 10, 2022) had closed.

Dorda, working with Loyens & Loeff, has advised Croma-Pharma on entering into a business combination agreement with the European Healthcare Acquisition & Growth Company. Schoenherr, working with Sullivan & Cromwell and Houthoff, advised EHC.

Schoenherr has advised Singapore-based Harps Global on its acquisition of the medical business division Sempermed from the Austrian Semperit Group for an enterprise value of EUR 115 million.

Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, E+H Partner Ulrike Sehrschoen has worked on eight reported client matters in Austria in 2022 – more than any other lawyer? It's been a good year for E+H, as Sehrschoen’s chief competition for the end-of-year title comes from a colleague, E+H Partner Judith Feldner, who has worked on seven reported client matters this year.