E+H has announced that Christoph Lejsek and Florian Sagmeister have been promoted to Partner on July 1, 2022.

Wolf Theiss, working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has advised Raiffeisen Bank S.A. on its issue of RON 500,850,000 Senior Non-Preferred Eligible Sustainability Notes. Clifford Chance advised the joint lead managers.

Schoenherr, working with WSS Redpoint, has advised Ancla Logistik on its merger with Logsta and the simultaneous conversion of existing revenue-based venture debt provided by Round2 Capital to Logsta. Brandl Talos, working with Ypog advised Logsta. Herbst Kinsky reportedly advised Round2 Capital.

BPV Huegel has advised investment manager Weilburg Family Office on its launch of a private equity module.

A strong flow of legislative updates, a number of active business sectors, and the upcoming presidential election in the fall – this is what’s in the cards for Austria, according to BMA Law & Tax Attorney at Law Herbert Hildenbrandt.

E+H has advised IFM Global Infrastructure Fund's indirect subsidiary Airports Group Europe on a partial voluntary public offer to increase its stake in Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft to over 40%.

Schoenherr, working with Pinsent Masons and Wenger Vieli, has advised Kontron on selling parts of Kontron Group’s IT services business to Vinci Energies during a competitive auction process, for approximately EUR 400 million. Reportedly, Baker McKenzie’s German office advised Vinci Energies. Loloci & Associates advised Kontron on Albanian matters.

E+H has advised Zeta Holding on establishing the Eridia joint venture with Buehler. Brauneis Klauser Praendl advised Buehler on the deal.

Former Borealis Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Katja Tautscher has joined OMV AG as Senior Vice President / General Counsel in Vienna.

E+H has advised German real estate investor KanAm Grund Group on the purchase of the last-mile logistics hall Cross Dock Upper Austria in Enns near Linz from the Meir Immobilien Group. SCWP Schindhelm advised the sellers on the deal.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Helu.io on its USD 10 million Series A financing round led by CommerzVentures, with the participation of Iris Capital and early-stage investor Speedinvest.

New Covid regulations are in effect from 1 August 2022, raising many questions for employers. The biggest changes are that quarantine for SARS-COV-2 infected persons is no longer mandatory according to Austrian law and the reinstatement of the risk group exemption ("Risikogruppenfreistellung").

FDI screening was for a long time a blank spot on the regulatory landscape for most countries in Central Eastern Europe (CEE). Unlike Western European Member States, relatively few countries in Central Eastern Europe had instruments to vet foreign investments and those that did exist often were of little practical consequence.

Brandl Talos has advised Kiprion on registering as a virtual currency service provider before the Austrian Financial Market Authority.

On July 7, four leading lawyers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the increasing prominence of ESG issues and their impact on M&A transactions, due diligence procedures, and the role of the lawyers themselves.

Even though the Austrian green bond market has not been very active, issuers like Uniqa, Hypo Noe, Verbund, and the Republic of Austria have taken the first steps toward the new asset class. The main feature of such bonds is the intention and/or commitment to invest the proceeds of the issue in green projects. Most issuers initially established stand-alone green bond frameworks based on voluntarily applied market standards. An Austrian green bond standard has not yet been developed. Frameworks used in Austria are usually based on published guidelines, like the International Capital Market Association's (ICMA) Green Bond Principles. Issuers do consider the upcoming standards of the European Union, too – particularly, the EU Green Bond Standards (EUGBS) and the so-called EU Taxonomy.

In a decision published on 26 July 2022, Austrian data protection authority established that Volkswagen was in violation of Articles 13, 28, 35 and 30 of the GDPR.

Tax legislation updates are the zeitgeist in Austria right now, according to Taylor Wessing Partner Michaela Petritz-Klar, with the energy sector, cryptocurrencies, and online platforms being at the forefront of overhaul efforts.