DLA Piper has promoted Ekaterina Larens to Partner in Austria, effective May 1, 2024.

Wolf Theiss has advised the Arkema Group on its acquisition of a nearly 78% stake in ionic liquid start-up Proionic.

Austria’s real estate business currently faces multifaceted challenges following the unexpected rise of interest rates and inflation in 2022, according to Knoetzl Partner Bettina Knoetzl, with “the SIGNA Holdings insolvency sending shockwaves throughout the industry and the country.”

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Dorda, working with Wilson Sonsini, has advised fintech company IXOPAY and shareholders Rene and Nathalie Siegl on the merger with US cloud tokenization provider TokenEx. Wolf Theiss, working with US-based Morris Manning & Martin, advised TokenEx.

Baker McKenzie has advised the Lindsay Corporation on its acquisition of a 49.9% stake in Austria-based Pessl Instruments, with an option to acquire the rest at a later date. HBA reportedly advised Gottfried Pess on the sale.

The most recent promotion round at CMS saw 54 lawyers promoted to the firm's partnership ranks, including Austria-based Daniela Kroemer, David Kohl, Florian Mayer, Kai Ruckelshausen, Lukas Peissl, Marlene Wimmer-Nistelberger, and Sonja Otenhajmer, Bulgaria-based Jenia Dimitrova, Hungary-based Agnes Solyom, Eszter Torok, and Katalin Horvath, and Poland-based Tomasz Sancewicz.

Christoph Gaar and Roman Gietler have been promoted to Partner positions with Mueller Partner Rechtsanwaelte in Vienna.

BPV Huegel has advised Verbund on its acquisition of a Burgenland wind farm with a total nominal output of 10.15 megawatts from a private wind farm developer and operator. CMS advised the undisclosed sellers.

DLA Piper appointed Partner Marcell Nemeth as the firm's new Head of the Finance Practice.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

Schoenherr has advised Caverion Oesterreich on its acquisition of the refrigeration and air conditioning business of Climacraft. Cuber advised Climacraft.

Schoenherr has advised joint lead managers Danske Bank, Erste Group, ING, Natixis, and UBS on Volksbank Wien's EUR 500 million issuance of notes. Wolf Theiss advised Volksbank Wien.

Cerha Hempel has advised the US-based Tennant Company on its acquisition of M&F Management and Financing.

Did you know that the CEE Q1 leaderboards are available through the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website?

Schoenherr has successfully represented ImWind in obtaining a legally binding EIA permit for the Loidesthal II wind farm in Zistersdorf, Lower Austria.

Austria's healthcare system got a long-anticipated makeover. After years of small-scale adjustments, a collective amendment – the "Vereinbarungsumsetzungsgesetz 2024" ("VUG 2024" or the "reform") – has brought a new wave of changes somewhere revolutionising healthcare in Austria. The VUG 2024 refers to a comprehensive and coordinated change made to a total of 13 legal matters, which are being modified together as a unified act for a more holistic approach. This happens to be one of the biggest reforms in the healthcare sector in recent decades.

Schoenherr has advised Austrian green technology scale-up Neoom on the structuring and implementation of its "impact invest" customer financing scheme for decentralized energy projects as well as related project debt financing arranged by Solas Capital in an amount of up to EUR 30 million.