The first rumors of a new infectious disease outbreak in late December 2019 initially only drew modest attention. Soon it became clear that the world had underestimated the spreading pandemic, and, despite Austria’s distance from the region of origin in Asia, by March 2020, the spread of COVID-19 in Europe had become a focus of concern. As hospitals struggled to deal with increasing numbers of coronavirus cases, governments throughout Europe – including Austria – imposed lockdowns that brought society as we know it to an abrupt halt. Overnight, European cities became ghost towns, with shops and services shuttered. Revenues vanished and, through no fault of their own, businesses had to face a difficult financial reality.

Austria – in particular Vienna, the capital and second largest German speaking city in the world, as well as Linz and Graz – is conveniently placed at crossroads of international trade routes providing excellent access to major European economies in all four directions.

Lately, the effects of COVID-19 have caused a significant surge in interest by high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) on global migration, as political stability and safety, access to well-functioning healthcare and education systems, and the ability to maintain a high standard of living became even more important.

Interview with Pascale Rahman, Vice President & General Counsel EMEA and India at Flex about her background and best practices.

An interview with Marcell Nemeth of Wolf Theiss, about his path from Budapest to Vienna.

According to the Life Science Report Austria, Austrian biotech companies recorded a turnover of USD 379.3 million in 2017, with USD 206.3 million – or 54.6% – flowing into research and development.

Dorda, working with lead counsel Allen & Overy, has advised DIF Capital Partners on the sale of its stake in a PPP portfolio including two hospitals in Vienna to Equitix. CMS advised Equitix on the deal, which was announced on April 19 and remains subject to several regulatory and other approvals.

Deloitte Legal Lithuania and LeitnerLaw have advised Hoerbiger on the cross-border merger of Lithuanian entity Hoerbiger LT UAB into Austrian entity Hoerbiger Wien. 

Brandl Talos, working with McCullough Robertson, has advised Sportradar Group on its acquisition of InteractSport Group, a sports data and technology company based in Australia and England.

Wolf Theiss has advised Kommunalkredit Austria AG on its successful issue of ordinary senior eligible notes in the amount of EUR 300 million. Schoenherr advised joint lead managers Erste Group Bank AG, Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, and Raiffeisenbank International AG, and co-lead manager Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale.

Dorda and King & Wood Mallesons have advised a fund managed by Pinova Capital and other shareholders of Deurowood Holding GmbH on the sale of Deurowood to Freudenberg Chemical Specialities, a German manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemical products.

An approaching milestone after decades – Part 1: Overview and jurisdiction

CMS has advised German investment company Finexx on its acquisition of Volpini Verpackungen GmbH Austria. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

A year has passed since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Austria and many legal problems remain unresolved. The problem seems new, but the legal provisions of the Austrian Civil Code em-ployed to deal with thae consequences of the pandemic are more than 200 years old, and were drafted in order to deal with quite different pandemic effects. The law refers to “extraordinary events” such as “fire, war or pandemic, major floods, weather events.” There is agreement that COVID-19 is a pandemic and therefore an extraordinary event in the meaning of the law.

Schoenherr has advised Energie Graz, Energie Steiermark, EVN, Illwerke VKW, Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe AG, Kelag, and Linz AG on the foundation of a joint venture in the e-mobility sector. 

On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (ECOM) published measures aimed at fostering sustainable investment and steering finance towards the European Green Deal.

Former PWC Legal Partner Stefanie Werinos-Sydow has brought her team to PHH Rechtsanwalte in Vienna.

Schoenherr has advised Raiffeisen Bank International as arranger on a true sale securitization of a EUR 538 million portfolio of vehicle leasing receivables by Raiffeisen Leasing Group. Clifford Chance advised RBI on German law aspects of the transaction, and anchor investors, which include the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, were advised by Linklaters and Binder Groesswang.