More than a year has elapsed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on our economy. Due to the extraordinary measures of the Hungarian government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, numerous services were suspended, many shops were closed, and travel is still restricted. Companies affected by these restrictions suffered huge losses, which may result in their insolvency.

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

Leading international arbitral institutions have announced record numbers in terms of the volume of new cases registered in 2020.

Schoenherr has advised Ventus LLC and Sky Logistica on the acquisition of Skyport, a cargo operator based in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, from the Czechoslovak Group, a.s.. In a parallel transaction, Schoenherr also advised Elite Partners Capital on the acquisition of the Skyport RE cargo property company from the Czechoslovak Group. Dentons advised the Czechoslovak Group on the parallel deals.

Unsurprisingly, 2020 saw a reduction in the A-listers on the Bulgarian real estate market, including investors in office, retail, and hospitality properties. The lockdown sent IT companies, which had been dictating the local office space market, into home office. The future of commercial and entertainment properties like shopping malls, cinemas, concert venues, and sports arenas remains uncertain – but tourism remains the hardest hit.

Schoenherr has advised Twisto FinCo s.r.o. and Twisto payments a.s. on its EUR 25 million debt refinancing, including a senior stream provided by J&T Banka of approximately EUR 17.3 million and a mezzanine stream provided jointly by Orbit Capital and Growth Finance of approximately EUR 7.7 million). Kocian Solc Balastik represented J&T Banka and CMS advising Orbit Capital and Growth Finance.

On 4 May, the detailed debate has been closed in the Hungarian Parliament in relation to the legislative proposal, which aims to implement Directive 2019/1023, also known as the restructuring directive, providing debtors with a pre-insolvency tool to rescue their viable but struggling enterprises. Restructuring proceedings fill a gap in the Hungarian legal environment and may also help enterprises recover financially from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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. 

The Chamber of Deputies is currently discussing at first reading a bill on the protection of whistleblowers. This act should implement the European directive on whistleblowing, and should therefore become effective within the implementation period, i.e. no later than 17 December 2021.

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

Biris Goran has helped River Development sell The Light One office building in Bucharet to UNIQA Real Estate GmbH. Schoenherr advised UNIQA on the deal.

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.

Over the last couple of years, more and more countries have deployed technologies that allow them to match digital images of a person (e.g. from a surveillance camera) against a database of pictures.

JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic has advised Pertula Holdings Ltd. and Aleksandar Popovic on the sale of the remaining shares in Grand Production to Grand Slam Group. Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr reportedly advised the buyers.

In December 2020 the Higher Administrative Court issued an interesting ruling regarding the party status of environmental organisations (EOs). Until now, the scope of EOs' participation rights in Austrian nature conservation proceedings was unclear. The court's ruling clarifies that EOs' party status is to be interpreted broadly.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Viennese start-up GoStudent on its EUR 70 million Series B investment round, which included existing investors Left Lane Capital and DN Capital as well as New York fund Coatue. Goodwin and Schoenherr advised Left Lane, and Cooley and Wolf Theiss reportedly advised Coatue.

Binder Groesswang and White & Case advised Verbund AG on their issuance of innovative green and sustainability-linked notes with a volume of EUR 500 million. Schoenherr and Linklaters advised BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan in their capacities as joint ESG structuring agents and joint bookrunners, as well as Erste Group, Morgan Stanley, and Societe Generale in their capacities as Joint Bookrunners.

Schoenherr and PRK Partners have advised B&B Hotels on the sale of properties in Hungary and the Czech Republic to Primonial REIM. Clifford Chance and Szecsenyi & Partners advised the buyers on the deal, which included a leaseback by B&B Hotels.