On 10 July 2023, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision for a lawful data transfer from the EU to the USA for the third time. This means that personal data may again be lawfully transferred to the US. This will facilitate the use of US service providers for EU companies.

Schoenherr has advised Tello Holding on the acquisition of a majority stake in VA Intertrading Aktiengesellschaft by taking over Kairos Industrie Holding from Hanno Baestlein. DSC Doralt Seist Csoklich reportedly advised the seller.

Wolf Theiss has advised joint lead managers and bookrunners Raiffeisen Bank International and MM Warburg on the subscription and placement of UBM Development's EUR 50 million issuance of 7% green bonds. DLA Piper advised the issuer.

On 28 April 2023 the European Commission ("Commission") put forth a proposal (Link) to revise Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (Payment Services Directive, "PSD2"), which was adopted on the EU level in 2015 and transposed into Austrian law by the Payment Services Act (Zahlungsdienstegesetz 2018 – ZaDiG 2018).

These days, Austrian lawyers are primarily focused on the topics of the prevailing economic climate and its future trajectory, the implications of ESG trends, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal profession, according to Dorda Managing Partner Martin Brodey.

Former Vavrovsky Heine Marth Attorney at Law Peter Tutsch has joined Fieldfisher as the fifth Partner in its new Vienna office, on July 3, 2023.

Schoenherr has successfully protected the trademark rights of Jaegermeister in a dispute regarding their imitation by a discount private label by obtaining an EU-wide preliminary injunction before Austria's Supreme Court of Justice.

Boyanov & Co has advised Borealis on the Bulgarian aspects of the sale of its indirect shareholding in Neochim to Agrofert. Wolf Theiss advised Agrofert.

Wolf Theiss has advised Bain Capital Special Situations on the acquisition of an approximately 20% stake in Intel’s IMS Nanofabrication business, as part of a transaction that values IMS at approximately USD 4.3 billion. Hogan Lovells reportedly advised Intel.

Brandl Talos has advised the shareholders on their sale of Ready2Order to Zucchetti. Schoenherr advised Ready2Order early investor Franz Hoerhager, while Schindler Attorneys advised Co-Founder Christoph Zhu on the transaction. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner advised the Zucchetti Group.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Salzburg-based dietary supplement manufacturer Biogena on a public offering for crowd-investors via the Rockets Investments platform with a total amount of up to EUR 3 million.

Johannes Feilmair, Karoline Hofmann, and Stefan Jeitler have been appointed to Partner positions with E+H in Austria at the beginning of July 2023. 

Schoenherr has advised Verbund – via its Verbund Energy4Business and Verbund Thermal Power subsidiaries – on the acquisition of all shares in Solarpower Holding together with its subsidiaries MSP Solarpower and IFIX-Solar from its shareholder. SCWP Schindhelm reportedly advised the sellers.

Binder Groesswang has advised microbiome technology R&D company Biome Diagnostics on its investment round with Uniqa Group company SanusX. Schoenherr reportedly advised the investors.

On June 30, 2023, Schoenherr announced that OMV’s sale of OMV Slovenija to MOL (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 17, 2021) had closed.

Investment firms, which operate in financial markets and provide investment services to third parties, were subject to the same organizational regulations as credit institutions, despite their different business and risk profiles. Their activities are regulated by MiFID II, which was transposed by the Austrian Securities Supervision Act 2018.

The CEELM Top 10 series looks back over the past ten years and celebrates the milestones we have achieved together. First up: most-read Briefings, with each article featuring a short description reflecting the authors’ opinion at the time.

Schoenherr has advised HS Timber Industrieinvest on establishing a joint venture with Hat Trick to build a sawmill in Argentina and produce and trade logs worldwide. PHH advised Hat Trick.