TMC - Technology, Media & Communications

Cologne, 18.07.2024 – A mul­tijur­is­dic­tion­al team from international law firm CMS has advised the Esports World Cup Foundation on the organisation of the first Esports World Cup (EWC), taking place over eight weeks in July and August 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Esports World Cup is more than just another tournament — we’re watching esports history unfold in real-time. Over 1,500 esports players (and more than 60 nationalities) are competing in Riyadh across 21 of the best games in the world for a share of the record-breaking $60 million prize pool.“The Esports World Cup is a major moment in esports history,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation. “It’s a historic culmination of two universal languages, gaming and sports, to unite the global community across games, leapfrog the esports industry and drive growth across the entire ecosystem.”Dr Pietro Graf Fringuelli and Samuel Oustayiannis led a global CMS-team of over 30 lawyers. The firm is providing full legal support for all aspects of the EWC, including all agreements with the teams, the rulebook for the EWC and all associated regulations for the participation at the EWC, all sponsorship agreements, media rights and partnership agreements as well agreements with publishers. CMS Germany Partner and Co-Head of the CMS Technology, Media & Communications Group, Dr Pietro Graf Fringuelli comments: “The esports industry continues to grow at a staggering rate and attracts records numbers of viewers around the world. The EWC will change the entire esport and will help to develop a sustainable eco­sys­tem.”An­nounced in late 2023, the Esports World Cup is an annual tournament series attracting over 450 teams worldwide. It also secures major sponsorships from brands such as Sony, TikTok, Amazon, Adidas, Pepsi and MasterCard. Designed for both professional esports players and gaming enthusiasts, the tournament consists of televised and streamed events across 21 different games, including League Of Legends, Call Of Duty: Warzone, Counter-Strike 2, EA Sports FC 24, and Fortnite. CMS Partner Sam Oustayiannis led the UK team working on the media rights and partnerships. He adds: “The Esports World Cup is an unparalleled event, which attracts interest from a wide range of parties, from competitors to sponsors and the media. We were able to coordinate a close working team across our various practices and offices to ensure that all legal aspects were covered to make it a successful event to be enjoyed by all. We can’t wait to see what the future brings for the Esports World Cup!” CMS Germany Dr Pietro Graf Fringuelli, Lead Partner Dr Sebastian Cording, Partner Dr Markus Häuser, Partner Dr Patrick Ehinger, Counsel Dr Fiona Savary, Counsel Dr Felix Glocker, Senior Associate Georg Schneider, Senior Associate Lara Grünberg, Associate, all TMC Dr Malte Bruhns, Partner Dr Henrik Meurer, Associate, both Corporate/M&A Dr Martin Gerecke, Partner Dr Tobias Nasr, Senior Associate, both IP Dr Robert Budde, Partner Phillip Bubinger, Counsel, both Commercial Prof. Dr Björn Gaul, Partner Victoria Kaule, Counsel Hanna Hamacher, Senior Associate, both Labor, Employment & Pensions Thomas Gerdel, Partner Dr Hendrik Arendt, Senior Associate, both Tax Christoff Soltau, Partner Dr Denis Schlimpert, Counsel, both Antitrust, Competition & Trade CMS Saudi Arabia Mohammed Aldowish, Partner Wala Alawajy Sara Alsaud Reem Alsmail CMS UAE Ben Gibson, Partner CMS UK Sam Oustayiannis, Partner Rebekah Hayes, Partner Coralie Barker Georgia Clark Harry Hall Laurel O’Dell Carter Rich Hamish Temporal Daniel WestPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com

The Krone Group has announced that it has taken a stake in the Schwarzmüller Group and is entering into an industrial partnership in the European commercial vehicle industry. It was advised in this context by an international team from commercial law firm CMS.

Frankfurt/Main, 19.06.2024 – Funds advised by PINOVA Capital GmbH have acquired a majority stake in the Neuromedex Group, in a transaction that sees Neuromedex’s founder and another director reinvesting in the company. Hamburg-based Neuromedex is a leading supplier of single-use products for neurosurgery and intensive care medicine. Neuromedex products enable neurosurgeons to monitor and regulate intracranial pressure in their patients’ brains with minimal infection risk. PINOVA’s investment will mainly be used to drive the go-to-market of new innovative products and expansion of the international sales network.A CMS team led by partner Markus Herz advised PINOVA on all legal aspects of the transaction. PINOVA regularly relies on the expertise of CMS teams, including during the recent acquisition of Riepe GmbH & Co. KG. CMS Germany Markus Herz, Lead Partner Hanno Brandt, Senior Associate Lorenz Liebsch, Senior Associate Maxine Notstain, Senior Associate, all Corporate/M&A Philippe Heinzke, Partner Thomas Fröhlich, Counsel Lisa Dietrich, Associate Sara Kapur, Associate, all TMC Dr Mario Brungs, Counsel, Labor, Employment & Pensions Birgit Wagner, Legal Manager Julian Buhr, Legal Co­ordin­at­or Con­rad Gräwe, Legal Coordinator Shae Lynn Washington, Legal Co­ordin­at­or  Tag­rid Chahrour, Senior Legal Specialist Anke Clippingdale, Senior Legal Specialist, all Smart OperationsPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com

Berlin, 20.06.2024 – Haufe Group SE, a leading B2B provider of integrated business and workplace solutions, has entered into an agreement to sell all the shares in Haufe-Lexware Real Estate AG to Aareon, a market leader in SaaS solutions for the property industry. The aim of the acquisition is to transfer Haufe-Lexware Real Estate AG’s existing ERP software solutions for the property and housing sector to the Aareon Group’s product portfolio. Completion of the deal is expected at the end of June 2024.A CMS team headed by partners Jesko Nobiling and Dr Jörg Zätzsch advised Haufe Group on all legal and tax aspects of the transaction. Haufe Group regularly relies on advice from teams headed by the two CMS partners. Recent examples include the sale of its Umantis talent management business to Swiss software company Abacus Research AG and the sale of tax return start-up Steuerbot GmbH to Taxfix SE. CMS Germany Dr Jörg Zätzsch, Lead Partner, Corporate/M&A Jesko Nobiling, Lead Partner, Tax Dr Karsten Heider, Partner Dr Friedrich von Spee, Counsel Dr Kevin Schmidt, Senior As­so­ci­ate Madeline Göbel, Senior Associate Dr Maximilian Koch, Senior Associate Dr Sven Möller, Associate Nadine Fröhlich, Project Manager, all Corporate/M&A Mariya Ivanova, Senior As­so­ci­ate Al­ex­an­der Selentin, Associate, both Tax Dr Alexandra Otto, Partner Patricia Jares, Principal Counsel, both Labor, Employment & Pensions Dr Ole Jani, Partner Dr Huy Do Chi, Counsel, both IP Dr Rolf Hempel, Partner Martin Cholewa, Counsel, both Antitrust, Competition & Trade Prof. Malte Grützmacher, Partner Julia Bald, Associate, both TMC Dr Mirko Zorn, Principal Counsel, Real Estate & Public Birgit Wagner, Smart OperationsPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com

Frankfurt/Main – The STAR IV Fund, which is advised by STAR Capital Partnership LLP, has acquired a majority stake in nextbike GmbH from Tier Mobility SE. nextbike is a leading developer and provider of innovative urban bike sharing solutions in Europe. STAR Capital is investing in nextbike alongside the management team. An international CMS team headed by lead partner Markus Herz advised STAR Capital on all legal aspects of the transaction. CMS Germany was supported by other CMS offices, including those in Spain, Poland, Sweden and Austria. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Leipzig, nextbike provides public bike sharing schemes on behalf of transport authorities, cities and public institutions. The global company is currently active in more than 300 cities with a deployed fleet of around 115,000 bicycles. London-based STAR Capital Partnership LLP is a private equity firm investing in companies and assets with enterprise value between EUR 50 million and EUR 1 billion. CMS Germany Markus Herz, Lead Partner Dr Tobias Kilian, Of Counsel Dominik von Zehmen, Counsel Hanno Brandt, Senior Associate Lorenz Liebsch, Senior Associate, all Corporate/M&A Dr Boris Alles, Partner Dela Herr, Senior Associate, both Labor, Employment & Pensions  Dr Markus Pfaff, Partner Hatice Akyel, Counsel Till Komma, Counsel, all Banking & Finance Dr Thomas Hirse, Partner Thomas Fröhlich, Coun­sel Se­basti­an Vautz, Senior Associate Lisa Dietrich, Associate, all IP Philippe Heinzke, Partner Sara Kapur, Associate, both TMC Julian Buhr, Legal Co­ordin­at­or Con­rad Gräwe, Legal Coordinator, both Smart Operations CMS Austria Florian Mayer, Partner Stefan Paulmayer, Partner Rebecca Herlitz, Associate CMS Poland Błażej Zagórski, Partner Piotr Stenko, Counsel Dr Magdalena Zmyslowska, Coun­sel Mag­dalena Piszewska, Senior As­so­ci­ate Krzysztof Sikora, Senior As­so­ci­ate Łukasz Duchiński, As­so­ci­ate Se­basti­an Łyś, As­so­ci­ate Wer­onika Burek CMS Spain Elena Alcázar Cuartero Jose Luis Díez Martín Ale­jandra Martin Benitez Paula Espinosa Montalbán Juan Moreno Alfonso Codes Calatrava CMS Sweden Henrik Aurelius, Counsel Noah Taha, AssociatePress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com