Press release - 17 April 2024An international team of CMS lawyers has provided comprehensive legal advice to Austrian Airlines AG on the sale of the Slovakian company Austrian Airlines Technik Bratislava (ATB) to the Dutch aircraft maintenance provider SAMCO Aircraft Main­ten­ance. Es­tab­lished in 2006, ATB has been offering first-class maintenance services specifically to regional aircraft operators. Closing the deal in early April, CMS supported the company’s successful sale to SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance, which expands its base maintenance footprint in Europe as a consequence. In the course of the acquisition, the CMS team contributed its international expertise in corporate law/M&A matters and also provided extensive legal advice on financing aspects and competition law. “We are excited to have supported Austrian Airlines on this transaction and are pleased that our expertise in cross-border M&A matters contributed to the smooth execution of the deal,” says Alexander Rakosi, a partner at CMS and a member of the corporate transactions team in Vienna. The CMS core transaction team consisted of partners Alexander Rakosi and Florian Mayer (both Vienna, Corporate/M&A) and attorney-at-law Martina Gavalec (Bratislava, Corporate/M&A), and was supported by partner Dieter Zandler (Vienna, Antitrust), associate Rebecca Herlitz (Vienna, Corporate), associate Ján Ševčík (Bratislava, Dispute Resolution), and legal trainee Matthias Torggler (Vienna, Corporate Transactions). On the buyer side, BarentsKrans (Netherlands) and Kinstellar (Slovakia) were involved in the transaction.

International law firm CMS is pleased to announce the promotion of 54 new partners. The new partners are based in 24 cities in 17 countries around the world, reflecting the firm's international strength and depth. Women account for 41% of all global promotions. Pierre-Sé­bas­tien Thill, CMS Chairman, comments: “Con­grat­u­la­tions to our new partners. In addition to their legal expertise and cutting-edge sector knowledge, they demonstrate deep curiosity about future business challenges and opportunities as well as help foster a culture of innovation, inclusivity and sustainability within our organisation. All these are traits needed to help our clients, and CMS, prepare for the world of to­mor­row.”CM­S's annual partner promotions take into account promotions that take effect between 2 May 2023 and 1 May 2024. The full list of new Partners can be found below:

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 - 03 March 2023An international CMS team advised DPE Deutsche Private Equity GmbH (DPE) on all aspects of the transaction. The team included lawyers from CMS offices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Romania and Poland.   DPE is selling its stake in VTU Group, a leading European provider of engineering solutions for the life science industry based in Graz, to Altor Funds. The Swedish private equity firm, which invests in mid-sized companies with the aim of creating value through growth initiatives and operational improvements, prevailed in a bidding process. The sellers, DPE-owned funds, were advised on all aspects of the transaction by an international CMS team led by Hendrik Hirsch (CMS Germany). The transaction is subject to the requisite approvals from the competent authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the trans­ac­tion.   The CMS Austria team led by Alexander Rakosi consisted of corporate/M&A experts Florian Mayer, Marco Selenic and Christoph Birner. The employment department was represented by Jens Winter and Shima Babanzadeh. Competition issues were handled by Dieter Zandler. Real estate law expertise was provided by Mariella Kapoun and Maximilian Uidl. Marlene Wim­mer-Nistel­ber­ger was in charge of public law issues and Thomas Aspalter saw to tax is­sues.   Al­ex­an­der Rakosi, partner at CMS in Vienna and leader of the Austrian team, is enthusiastic about the cross-border cooperation: “Once again, we were able to demonstrate our international expertise, especially in the private equity area, in a multi-jur­is­dic­tion­al project – congratulations to all involved!”

Press release - 10th October 2022

The new capital will be used both to finance the online grocer’s continued expansion in Germany, Italy, Spain and Romania and to drive forward technical innovation. Founded in 2014, online grocer Rohlik, which revolutionised grocery in Austria with gurkerl. at, is one of the fastest growing retailers in the Czech Republic and the entire CEE region. Promising delivery just 90 minutes after an order is placed, the company already supplies more than one million customers with more than 17,000 products. Rohlik now not only offers its delivery service in Vienna (gurkerl. at), but also in Prague (rohlik. cz), Budapest (kifli. hu), Munich and Frankfurt (knuspr. de). Soon the service plans to launch in Hamburg, Milan (sezamo. it), Bucharest (sezamo. ro) and Madrid (sezamo. es). The fresh capital will be used to finance continuing expansion and drive technical innovations. Alexander Rakosi, Partner in the CMS Vienna Corporate Transactions Team, is delighted with the deal: “Such a large cross-border transaction always raises a number of complex legal and organisational issues that require sound legal expertise and a well-coordinated transaction team. Our international network enables us to provide our clients with comprehensive advice and access to seasoned experts in all coun­tries.”Man­aging Partner of CMS in Prague and Bratislava, Helen Rodwell, is also pleased about the successful closing: “We are proud to have been able to accompany this new financing round. Rohlik’s unique offering and first-class service make it an attractive growth candidate for investors cautious due to the current economic and geopolitical climate. As a leading international law firm – with a significant presence in CEE and many other European countries – CMS is ideally placed to provide legal support for this kind of cross-border trans­ac­tion.”The Austrian CMS legal team in Vienna included Alexander Rakosi and Florian Mayer (Corporate Law/M&A), Anna Hiegelsperger (Corporate Law/M&A), Jens Winter (Employment & Pensions), Sonja Otenhajmer (Dispute Resolution), Mariella Kapoun (Real Estate & Construction) and Maximilian Uidl (Real Estate & Construction). The international CMS legal team was led by experienced CMS partner Helen Rodwell (CMS Czech Republic) and consisted of David Cranfield (CMS Romania), Štěpán Havránek and Tristan O'Connor (CMS Czech Republic); and Moritz Kopka (CMS UK). Also advising were Florian Kamienke and Oliver Thurn (CMS Germany); Miklos Boros (CMS Hungary); José Luis Rodriguez and Carlos Peña (CMS Spain); Cristina Ciomos and Rodica Manea (CMS Romania); and Alessandra Cuni, Sara Tammarazio and Daniela Murer (CMS Italy). 

Apleona acquires Siemens Ge­bäu­de­m­an­age­ment und -Services (SGS). CMS Vienna provides comprehensive legal support to Siemens Aus­tria.   Siemens Austria has agreed to sell Siemens Ge­bäu­de­m­an­age­ment & -Services G.m.b.H. (SGS) to Apleona. The closing of the transaction is expected in the third quarter of the financial year and is subject to customary antitrust approvals. Both companies have maintained a good and close relationship for years. SGS will be further strengthened by joining forces with Apleona, resulting in an expanded and improved range of ser­vices.   Siemens Austria is being legally advised and supported by the Viennese law firm CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz under the leadership of Alexander Rakosi, partner in the Corporate/M&A department. The core CMS team further consists of M&A experts Florian Mayer, Marie-Christine Lidl, Anna Hiegelsperger and Matthias Emich. Sibylle Novak and Alexander Hiermann deal with tax law issues, Andrea Potz, and Jens Winter assist on labour law topics and Bernt Elsner and Marlene Wim­mer-Nistel­ber­ger advise on competition law. Additional support during the course of the transaction came from Daniela Karollus-Bruner, Robert Keisler, Dieter Zandler and Clemens Gross­may­er.   Al­ex­an­der Rakosi is pleased with the successful deal signing: “We are proud to be able to support Siemens on this project with a cross-de­part­ment­al team and contribute to further entrenching Siemens as a focused technology company in Aus­tria.”   Siemens Ge­bäu­de­m­an­age­ment & -Services ¬G.m.b.H., based in Vienna, is a successful man­u­fac­turer-in­de­pend­ent full-service provider in the technical building¬ management¬ sector with around 260 employees. Its customers include institutions from the health care, culture and education, trade and logistics sectors, as well as renowned commercial enterprises. In the last business year, it achieved a turnover of around 75 million euros.

Published on CEE Legal Matters | February 23, 2022 CMS has advised Greiner on the sale of its extrusion division, including operational assets in Austria and the Czech Republic, to Nimbus. KPMG Legal advised Nimbus. Greiner is an Austrian plastics and foam specialist company.

Shortly before the beginning of the year, CMS Austria supported the Austrian plastics and foam specialist Greiner AG on the successful sale of its extrusion division, including the associated operational real estate in Nußbach, Upper Austria, and Trhové Sviny, Czech Republic. On 21 December 2021, the German Federal Cartel Office approved the sale of the Austrian- based Greiner Extrusion Group (GEG) to the Dutch-German investment company Nimbus – the majority owner, amongst other things, of bat­ten­feld-cin­cin­nati, one of CEG’s competitors with subsidiaries in Germany, Austria, the USA and China. The now affiliated companies intend to exploit synergies in purchasing, at least. Otherwise, both entities will remain independent companies with their organisational structures and market presence. As part of the transaction, the experts of the CMS advisory team, led by Alexander Rakosi, Florian Mayer and Anna Hiegelsperger, had to navigate numerous complex legal topics on trans­ac­tion-re­lated aspects as well as in the areas of real estate law and an­ti­trust/com­pet­i­tion law. The internationally experienced team of experts at CMS Austria also included Dieter Zandler (antitrust law), Vanessa Horaceck (competition law), Hans Lederer (trademark law), Johannes Hysek (real estate law), Mariella Kapoun (real estate), Sibylle Novak (international tax law), Thomas Aspalter (tax law), Cornelia Kreuth (M&A), Christoph Birner (financing) and Alexandros Hantasch (corporate trans­ac­tions). In addition, the Austrian advisory team was also supported by colleagues from other CMS offices. The international CMS team consisted of Stepan Havranek (CZ), Eva Bryndova (CZ), Michael Munzinger (PRC), Lei Shi (PRC), Dipesh Santilale (UK), Sabby Kenzie (UK), Margaux Deuchler (F), Thomas Hains (F), Blazej Zagorski (PL) and Marta Osowska-Buba (PL). Lead partner Alexander Rakosi happily notes: “International transactions bring multi-faceted challenges. We are glad to have been able to provide comprehensive legal advice to the Greiner Group from project kick-off to its successful closing across all countries.”

Teda-MM and LDS Plast have established themselves as leading manufacturers of thermoformed rigid food packaging in the Balkan region. CMS advised the Bulgarian founders/own­er­ship family on selling a majority stake in the two companies to CEECAT Capital. It is a Bulgarian success story: Founded in 1992, Teda-MM acquired its main competitor LDS Plast in 2015 and turned both companies into leading suppliers of sustainable and recyclable thermoformed food packaging in Bulgaria, Southeast Europe, and beyond – now with more than 900 products in their range. In order to drive growth and expansion, the Bulgarian ownership family has now sold its majority stake in both Teda-MM and LDS Plast to CEECAT Capital, a leading private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey. This transaction is the second investment of CEECAT Fund II.   “We are very pleased that we were able to support the Teda/LDS founding family on this strategic transaction. Once again, we were able to demonstrate our extensive experience and expertise in advising international companies on cross-border private equity transactions”, says Alexander Rakosi, Partner at CMS Vienna.   Lead Partner Alexander Rakosi and Lead Associate Florian Mayer (Corporate/M&A) formed the core team together with their Bulgarian colleagues Gentscho Pavlov (Co-Managing Partner CMS Sofia, Banking & Finance), Dimitar Zwiatkov (Partner, Corporate/M&A) and Ivan Gergov (Senior Associate, Corporate/M&A). In addition, Gérard Maitrejean (Partner, Corporate/M&A), Vivian Walry (Partner, Banking & Finance), Andreea Antonescu (Counsel, Corporate/M&A), Zornitsa Dimitrova (Counsel, Banking & Finance) and Cédric Dvoratchek (Associate, Corporate/M&A) from the Luxembourg CMS office were involved in the transaction, with  Pieter van Duijvenvoorde (Partner, Corporate/M&A) from CMS Netherlands providing support on Dutch law matters.

The internationally active specialist in recycling and packaging solutions ALPLA is adding to its already broad product portfolio. ALPLA was advised by CMS again on its recent acquisition of Wolf Plastics Group.

US-based Modine Manufacturing Company, a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, is selling part of its European air-cooled automotive business, including its manufacturing...