News & Informations

Press release - 22 March 2024

Press release - 22 March 2024 

Press release - 15 March 2024 CMS Austria has advised the Greek Sfakianakis Group on the acquisition of Ajar Car Rental GmbH from the Saudi Arabian Al Jomaih Group, providing comprehensive legal advice on the project. Ajar Car Rental GmbH is the master franchisee of Enterprise, National, and Alamo in Austria, serving rent-a-car customers across the country. During the acquisition, the CMS Austria team provided significant support and advice on all areas of the transaction, including due diligence, employment, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, banking and finance, data protection and competition. Alexander Rakosi (Partner, Corporate/M&A) led the CMS core transaction team, which further consisted of Christoph Birner (Associate, Corporate/M&A) and Thomas Liegl (Associate, Corporate/M&A). Alexander Rakosi comments: “We are very pleased to have successfully supported the Sfakianakis Group on its market entry into Austria and to have contributed to our client's continued growth in the automotive industry."The CMS due diligence team included Rebecca Herlitz (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Mariella Kapoun (Partner, Real Estate), Hans Lederer (Partner, Intellectual Property), Andreas Lichtenberger (At­tor­ney-at-Law, Data Protection), Caroline Pavitsits (Associate, Employment), Kai Ruckelshausen (Partner, Banking & Finance), Sheldon Sookdeo (Associate, Banking & Finance), Maximilian Uidl (Associate, Real Estate), Marlene Wim­mer-Nistel­ber­ger (Partner, Regulatory), Jens Winter (Partner, Employment) and Dieter Zandler (Partner, Competition), as well as legal trainees Roman Namestek, Ferdinand Sima and Mattias Torggler. PHH Rechtsanwälte, led by Rainer Kaspar and Philip Rosenauer, provided legal support to Al Jomaih. About Sfakianakis Group Founded in 1958, Sfakianakis Group is one of the leading diversified business groups in Greece, with a core focus on the Automotive, Industrial and Consumer Retail sectors. Headquartered in Athens, Greece, the Group is 100% family owned and employs over 1,500 individuals across 14 countries in Europe. Within the Automotive sector, the Group operates one of the largest automotive retail businesses in the region, the distribution businesses of BYD and Suzuki, a leading long-term leasing business (Executive Lease), and a rapidly growing Rent-A-Car business as the Master Franchisee of En­ter­prise-Na­tion­al-Alamo in 14 countries.

Published on CEE Legal Matters | 12 December 2023

Press release - 23.11.2023Alder Investment III, a Nordic private equity fund, which focuses on the development of environmentally sustainable companies, recently closed a transaction to acquire a majority stake in Insort, a maker of high-tech imaging solutions for the food industry, used for optical sorting of food products. Alder was advised by CMS on all legal aspects and certain tax aspects of the trans­ac­tion. "Our ability to cover all relevant legal aspects of the transaction enabled us to provide highly specialised advice on a wide range of topics, which is particularly helpful for investment in a high-tech company. It has been a pleasure working with Alder on this transaction. Congratulations to all parties involved," said Peter Huber, Partner and Head of Corporate Transactions at CMS Vienna. The Corporate/M&A team consisted of lead partner Peter Huber, senior associate Marco Selenic and associate Livia Landskron. Tax structuring issues were handled by partner Sibylle Novak and senior associate Thomas Aspalter. Other team members who provided extensive due diligence and transaction documentation support were senior associate Jia Schulz-Cao (IP), partner Daniela Krömer and associate Shima Babanzadeh (employment), partner Marlene Wim­mer-Nistel­ber­ger (regulatory), partner Dieter Zandler and senior associate Vanessa Horaceck (competition). About Alder Alder is a Nordic investment fund with the aim of creating the best possible conditions for long-term development of environmentally sustainable technology and services companies. With a mix of industrial and financial expertise and with an interest in entrepreneurship as a driving force, Alder creates profitable growth in close cooperation with companies. For more information, visit www. alder. se. About Insort Founded in 2011, Insort GmbH is a global technology leader in vision solutions for the food industry. Insort GmbH focuses on the development, production and marketing of digital sorting and control systems based on its proprietary Chemical Imaging Technology (CIT®). CIT® is a hyperspectral imaging technology designed for maximum performance, which enables the classification of food products based on their chemical composition and is used in-line and in real time. In a very short time, Insort has managed to establish itself globally in the highly competitive digital sorting market with its successful machine series called Sherlock. The company currently employs around 60 people at three locations (Austria, USA, Canada). For more information, visit www. insort. at.

Dealmaking expectations mixed amidst economic uncertainty, but private equity notably bullish 

Published on 03 July 2023We are pleased to announce the launch of our English Law Desk. Our English Law Team focuses on English law governing finance and corporate/M&A transactions as well as dispute resolution. The team consists of highly qualified lawyers, among them CMS partners Marcell Clark, Alexander Rakosi and David Kohl as well as solicitor Anna Freund. Marcell Clark (Banking & Finance), Alexander Rakosi and David Kohl (both Corporate/M&A) and their teams have extensive expertise in advising on banking and finance as well as corporate/M&A transactions governed by English law, regularly working on some of the most important deals in the region. Anna Freund is an expert qualified in English law with extensive experience in handling litigation and arbitration in various industries. She recently joined CMS's dispute resolution team and contributes valuable expertise in English law governing dispute resolution practice. The English law department of CMS Austria works with a wide range of internationally active clients, including banks, institutional and financial investors, corporations, industrial conglomerates, DFIs, debt funds, national and international development organisations, government institutions and public authorities. We believe that the launch of our English Law Desk enables us to provide comprehensive and high-quality legal services to our clients. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need assistance or have any questions. 

Press release - 22.03.2023An international team of experts from CMS advised the ALPLA Group on establishing a joint venture with the Spanish packaging company Inden Pharma. The core CMS Vienna team, led by Alexander Rakosi, included Florian Mayer and Anna Hiegel­sper­ger.   The ALPLA Group and Inden Pharma have strengthened their presence in the pharmaceutical market by founding a joint venture. ALPLA Pharma is contributing production sites in Greece and Poland to the cooperation and Inden Pharma two plants in Spain. Together they plan to set up a site in Germany and triple their production over the next five years. Such cross-border joint venture projects present numerous legal challenges, whose successful implementation requires seamless cooperation between internationally experienced teams from various practice groups and jurisdictions. The expert team for the current ALPLA deal included lawyers from CMS offices in Austria, Spain, Germany and Poland. Alexander Rakosi, Partner at CMS Vienna and responsible for the successful conclusion of the joint venture says: "Cross-border technology and know-how transfer are becoming increasingly important for our clients’ sustainable economic success. We are therefore delighted to have made a valuable contribution to this deal with our global CMS network, our international experience and our in-depth expertise on cross-border deals."The CMS Austria team consisted of corporate/M&A experts Alexander Rakosi, Florian Mayer, Anna Hiegelsperger, Livia Landskron, Ramona Mujanovic, Rebecca Herlitz, Rupert Riedl and Hannah Gierlinger. The Intellectual Property department was represented by Hans Lederer. Dieter Zandler, Vanessa Horaceck and Stefan Sottner were dealing with antitrust and competition law issues. The CMS Spain team, led by Luis Miguel De Dios and Jorge Peris Hevia, also included corporate/M&A experts Ana Vázquez Recio, Lucía Signes de Mesa and Saphira Mouzayek. Víctor Sanjuán Mira, María José Ramos Aguilar, Guillermo García Diéguez, Irene San Martín García and Ricardo Gómez-Barreda de la Gándara were also involved in the due diligence process. Tax law expertise was provided by Ricardo Héctor and Marta Burgos Murillo. The CMS Germany team included Malte Bruhns, Laura Christin Stein, Christin Fischer and Moritz Ziegler. The CMS Poland team consisted of Blazej Zagorski, Joanna Bialoskorska and Aleksandra Dalecka.

Press release - 06. March 2023A team of experts at CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz advised the Swiss ABB E-mobility AG on the successful Series A financing round of the Viennese PropTech start-up PAYUCA. The two transaction partners have agreed not to disclose the exact amount of the in­vest­ment. Al­ex­an­der Rakosi, Partner at CMS in Vienna, led the Series A investment on behalf of the Swiss ABB E-mobility AG: “I am very pleased that we were able to successfully support our client in taking this important expansion step together with a new Austrian company. In the initial pace-setting financing rounds es­pe­cially, sound professional guidance and strategic support are crucial to enable sustainable growth. With our start-up expertise, we can provide appropriate support in all legal areas.” The CMS core team around partner Alexander Rakosi included lawyer Lisa Oberlechner and associate Thomas Liegl. Jens Winter, Johannes Scharf, Marlene Wim­mer-Nistel­ber­ger, Andreas Lichtenberger and Shima Babanzedeh (due diligence) and Dieter Zandler (competition law) were also involved as experts. ABB E-mobility AG is a leading global provider of electric vehicle charging solutions with more than one million electric vehicle chargers in more than 85 markets, over 50,000 DC fast chargers and more than one million AC char­gers. PAYUCA became known for a smart parking app that enables people looking for parking spaces in Vienna to find and use free parking spaces in private underground garages quickly and easily. Together with ABB E-mobility, the business model is to be extended to the digitalisation and electrification of garages.

Vorsichtiger Optimismus: 2022 stieg das Volumen der M&A-Aktivitäten in den europäischen Schwel­len­ländern

Pressemitteilung - 02. Februar 2023Hans Lederer, Klaus Pateter und Arno Zimmermann werden mit 1. Februar 2023 Partner bei CMS in Wien. Die CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH leitet den Gen­er­a­tion­en­wech­sel ein und ernennt drei international erfahrene Wirtschaft­san­wälte zu neuen Partnern: Hans Lederer, Klaus Pateter und Arno Zimmermann erweitern ab 1. Februar 2023 den Partnerkreis der renommierten Wiener Recht­san­walts­sozi­etät. Hans Lederer ist auf Im­ma­ter­i­al­gü­ter­recht spezialisiert. Er verwaltet zahlreiche internationale Rechteportfolios und berät und vertritt seine Mandant:innen in Zusammenhang mit der Sicherung, Durchsetzung und Lizenzierung von Marken- und Designrechten. Er verfügt zudem über profunde Kenntnisse und langjährige Erfahrung in den Bereichen Urheberrecht und Per­sön­lich­keit­s­rechte, publiziert hierzu regelmäßig in Fachzeits­chriften und ist Gastvortragender an der FH Burgenland. Darüber hinaus berät er seine Mandant:innen in strategischen Fragen zum Patentrecht, insbesondere in Zusammenhang mit Di­en­sterfind­un­gen, und vertritt diese in streitigen Verfahren. Vor seiner Tätigkeit für CMS arbeitete Hans Lederer als Jurist und Projektmanager im Gen­er­alsek­ret­ari­at des Ös­ter­reichis­chen Roten Kreuzes. Klaus Pateter berät und vertritt seine internationalen Mandant:innen in den Bereichen IT-Recht, neue Technologien & digitale Assets, Datens­chutzrecht, Cybersecurity sowie Produkthaftung und Produkt­sich­er­heit. Zudem steht er Start-ups bei Aufbau und Finanzierung des Unternehmens – insbesondere im Bereich Venture Capital – zur Seite. Klaus Pateter leitet die Start-up Advisory Group von CMS Österreich sowie equIP, den renommierten Legal Accelerator von CMS für Start-ups. Klaus Pateter ist in Österreich und New York als Rechtsanwalt zugelassen. Arno Zimmermann berät Mandant:innen in streitigen Verfahren vor staatlichen und Schiedsgericht­en. Sein Schwerpunkt liegt auf gesell­schaft­s­recht­lichen Au­s­ein­ander­set­zun­gen zwischen Gesellschaftern sowie Gesellschaften und deren Organen. (Börsen­ori­entierte) Gesellschaften wenden sich an Arno Zimmermann auch regelmäßig zur Vorbereitung von Haupt- und Gesell­schafterver­sammlungen, sofern er Investoren in solchen vertritt. Darüber hinaus berät er regelmäßig Klient:innen in gesell­schaft­s­recht­lich anspruchsvollen Transaktionen im Venture Capital Bereich sowie bei gren­züber­s­chreit­enden Im­mob­i­li­en­tran­sak­tion­en. Arno Zimmermann ist Autor von mehr als 40 Publikationen in seinen Fachbereichen und regelmäßiger Vortragender. CMS Österreich hat eine führende Position in Mittel- und Südost-Europa und verfügt über Büros in Wien, Belgrad, Bratislava, Istanbul, Kiew, Ljubljana, Podgorica, Sarajewo, Skopje, Sofia und Zagreb. Mit den neuen Partnern werden die Kernkompetenzen des Hauses weiter ausgebaut und das Know-how im Technologie- und Start-up-Bereich stärker in den Fokus ger­ückt.Gün­ther Hanslik, Managing Partner bei CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz: „Unsere Kanzlei steht für fachliche Kompetenz, internationale Expertise und nachhaltige Stabilität. Die große Mehrzahl unserer Mandant:innen beraten und betreuen wir über viele Jahre. Dabei geben wir ihnen Sicherheit und Orientierung und unterstützen sie nicht zuletzt bei der Umsetzung innovativer Zukunftsthemen. Mit unserer zielgerichteten Nachwuchs¬arbeit stellen wir sicher, dass diese wertvolle Expertise auch an die nächste Generation weitergegeben wird und CMS ihren Mandant:innen auch in Zukunft als verlässlicher und vertrauensvoller Partner zur Seite stehen kann. Wir freuen uns daher sehr, dass wir mit Hans Lederer, Klaus Pateter und Arno Zimmermann drei hochqual­i­f­iz­ierte und engagierte Anwälte in unserer Partnerschaft begrüßen dürfen.“

Pres­sein­form­a­tion - 23. Januar 2023In Krisenzeiten wachsen die Heraus­for­der­ungen für Geschäfts­führ­er von Unternehmen und ihr Haftungsrisiko steigt. Rechtsanwalt und Uni­versität­s­pro­fess­or Johannes Reich-Rohrwig gibt mit seiner aktualisierten Kommentierung der Geschäfts­führ­er­haf­tung im „Wiener Kommentar“ zum GmbH-Gesetz wichtige Hilfestellungen bei komplexen rechtlichen Fra­gen.   Jo­hannes Reich-Rohrwig: „Gerade in bewegten Zeiten stehen GmbH-Geschäfts­führ­er vor großen Heraus­for­der­ungen. Mit jeder Entscheidung ist ein persönliches Haftungsrisiko verbunden. In meiner aktuellen Kommentierung des § 25 im Wiener Kommentar zum GmbHG erörtere ich praxisnahe Fragestellungen wie Sorgfalt­sp­f­licht­en, Business Judgement Rule sowie die (Nicht-)Zurech­nung von Fehlern von Mitarbeitern und Beratern. Selb­stver­ständ­lich werden auch Verstöße gegen das Verbot der Ein­la­gen­rück­gewähr und Pflichten von Geschäfts­führ­ern in insolvenznahen Situationen kommentiert. Die neueste Rechtsprechung ist eingearbeitet.“   Jo­hannes Reich-Rohrwig schöpft als Rechtsanwalt und Uni­versität­s­pro­fess­or für Gesell­schaft­s­recht aus seiner reichen Praxiserfahrung. Er ist Namenspartner der international tätigen Anwaltssozietät CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz und im Bereich Wirtschaftsrecht einer der führenden Rechtsanwälte in Ös­ter­reich.   Der im Manz Verlag erschienene „Wiener Kommentar“ erörtert das gesamte GmbH-Recht und wichtige Nebengesetze. Experten aus Universität, Anwaltschaft, Notariat und dem BMJ behandeln die Recht­sentwicklung, Judikatur und unterschiedliche Meinungen darin klar strukturiert.