Vienna, January 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH (fwp) successfully represented the timber industry section of the Upper Austrian Economic Chamber (WKOÖ) before the Constitutional Court in its fight against the repeal of the regulation on membership fees.

The Upper Austrian Regional Administrative Court, with which three complaints against membership fee decisions had been lodged by timber industry companies, filed an application with the Constitutional Court (VfGH) requesting that the regulation on Economic Chamber membership fees for the timber industry section be repealed in full or in part. The membership fees levied are, in particular, used for financing the industry section within the Economic Chamber, thus ensuring that it can work efficiently and effectively for its members.

fwp successfully represented the timber industry section of the Upper Austrian Economic Chamber in the proceedings to review the regulation before the Constitutional Court, thus securing the continued funding of the timber industry’s professional organisation and in particular ProHolz, an initiative aimed at promoting the use of wood.

“The Constitutional Court dismissed the applications filed by the Upper Austrian Regional Administrative Court and followed our reasoning in its entirety”, says fwp partner Michael Hecht.

“In addition to having a direct impact on the timber industry, the ruling also has significant repercussions for all professional organisations within the Economic Chamber where the most recent reform resulted in a regrouping and merging of different industries and sectors, and shows how membership fees can be used for financing in conformity with the constitution as well as to applicable legislation”, concludes fwp partner Michael Hecht.

The team consisted of fwp partner Michael Hecht (lead) and fwp associate Josef Peer.

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Vienna, January 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH (fwp) advised the listed Wienerberger Group during the takeover of the Brenner brick factory based in St. Andrä im Lavanttal (Carinthia).

fwp advised Wienerberger, the global leader in brick production, on the successfully completed takeover of the Brenner brick factory in St. Andrä. This takeover allowed Wienerberger to strengthen its presence in southern Austria as well as its position on the Austrian market. As a result, Wienerberger will be able to better meet the growing demand for natural construction materials in the southern part of Austria.

”Owing to our expertise in M&A, we were able to successfully advise the global leader in brick production on this takeover and help them to further expand their presence on the Austrian market”, says fwp founding partner Markus Fellner. The transaction was approved by the competition authority in October 2017 and successfully completed on 10 January 2018.

The core team of fwp comprised fwp partner Markus Fellner (lead) and attorney-at-law Benedikt Kessler. Lead in-house legal counsel were Wolfgang Rainer and Gerhard Hanke.

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Vienna, January 2018. Established in 2005, the Client Choice Awards recognise those law firms and partners around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. fwp partner Markus Fellner was the exclusive winner in the category “Banking” in Austria.

“Given the strong competition in Austria, winning the exclusive Client Choice Award in Banking is a great honor for the team as a whole and also for me personally, as it shows special recognition for our hard work”, states Markus Fellner happily. As founder and partner of Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte (fwp), he and his banking & finance expert team recently advised HYPO NOE Group on the upstream merger of HYPO NOE Landesbank AG, as well as BAWAG P.S.K. on the acquisition of the SIX credit card portfolio.

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Vienna, February 2018. The Legal 500 Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence.

The Hall of Fame will highlight, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession. The criteria for entry is to have been recognized by The Legal 500 as one of the elite leading lawyers for seven consecutive years.

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Vienna, February 2018. Once again, fwp has been listed as one of Austria’s leading law firms in the high-profile Chambers Global guide

‘We are happy that, this year again, fwp’s expertise in the fields banking and finance, capital markets, corporate / M&A and dispute resolution is reflected in the renowned Chambers Global ranking”, founding member Dr. Markus Fellner is happy to say.

Since 1999, the London-based publishing house Chambers & Partners has been analysing the legal markets of over 180 jurisdictions, thereby identifying the world’s leading lawyers and law firms. Their careful research is based on the extensive submissions filed by law firms and, above all, on individual interviews conducted with clients, lawyers and peers of the law firms.

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Vienna, March 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH (fwp) advised the shareholders of RadarServices Smart IT-Security GmbH (RadarServices) – Europe’s leading technology company in the field of detection & response – on the sale of 51% of their shares to CYOSS GmbH with its registered address in Munich.

fwp advised the shareholders of RadarServices Smart IT-Security GmbH (RadarServices) – Europe’s leading technology company in the field of Detection & Response – on the sale of 51% of their shares to CYOSS GmbH with its registered address in Munich. By selling the shares, the strategic goals of RadarServices are to be pursued jointly and the further development of the company is to take place as planned. Thanks to their alliance, the two companies create the first global player with respect to “cybersecurity made in Europe”. Having locations in Europe, the USA, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, they provide a finely tuned portfolio consisting of consultancy, testing, detection & response as well as training with respect to cybersecurity and integrated Big Data services to customers from 170 countries.

“Thanks to our expertise in the field of M&A, we were once again able to successfully advise a leading European technology company with respect to the sale of its shares and to support the company with regard to its strategic development”, says fwp partner Paul Luiki. The transaction was successfully completed on 21 February 2018.

The core team of fwp consisted of fwp partner Paul Luiki (lead), fwp partner Christian Thaler and fwp partner Lukas Flener (Anit-Trust Law) as well as fwp associates Christina Bernhart, Peter Pichlmayr and Lukas Rehrl.

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Vienna, March 2018. Once again, fwp has been listed among the best in the high-profile ranking of the Chambers Europe guide, one of the most renowned international legal directories.

fwp is top ranked in the practice areas Banking & Finance, Corporate / M&A, Restructuring & Insolvency, Public law: Planning and Environment, Public Procurement / PPP and Dispute Resolution.

Markus Fellner, Michael Hecht, Gregor Schett and Christian Thaler are identified by name as leading lawyers.

‘We are happy that, once again, fwp’s expertise in the fields of banking and finance, corporate / M&A, restructuring & insolvency, public law and public procurement / PPPs as well as dispute resolution is reflected in the renowned Chambers Europe ranking and that clients appreciate our team spirit and our commitment’, says founding member Dr. Markus Fellner.

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Vienna, March 2018. TerraLex, the international law firm network of which fwp is the only Austrian partner, was honoured as Global Network of the Year in London this past Thursday, at the annual The Lawyer’s European Awards.

As a successful business law firm, fwp is the Austrian member of TerraLex, one of the largest international law firm networks represented in more than 100 countries with over 19,000 lawyers. This year, the renowned ‘The Lawyer European Awards 2018’ event held in London saw TerraLex win ‘Global Network of the Year’.

The judges also emphasized the many examples of the excellent teamwork of TerraLex member firms. In doing so TerraLex member firms were able to win mandates from large global firms.

‘We are particularly proud to be part of this successful and innovative network and are very proud about this outstanding award’, says fwp partner Markus Fellner.

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Vienna, March 2018. fwp was ranked Austria’s number three in the legal profession category upon making its first appearance in the “Best Recruiters” ranking, performed in the context of the biggest recruitment study conducted in the German-speaking countries. “We are very proud because we not only made it into the ranking for the first time but even gained the third place. We are extremely happy about this distinction which we owe to consistent and target-oriented team work.” says fwp partner Markus Fellner.

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Vienna, April 2018. Once again, fwp was honoured as top-ranking law firm in various categories in this year’s The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa Guides 2018. Seven of fwp’s partners were recommended as leading experts.

fwp achieves top rankings in the categories Insolvency & Corporate Recovery, Banking & Finance, Commercial, Corporate and M&A, Capital Markets, Administrative Law and Public Sector, Public Procurement, and Dispute Resolution as well as Employment.

Markus Fellner, Michael Hecht, Paul Luiki, Gregor Schett, Christian Thaler, Kurt Wratzfeld and Lukas Flener are recommended as top lawyers.

“We are glad that our long-standing expertise in our core areas is, once again, reflected also in an international comparison. We see this result as an acknowledgement of our daily commitment and the excellent performance of all our lawyers”, says founding partner Markus Fellner.

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Vienna, April 2018. Once again, trend magazine’s traditional lawyer ranking lists Austria’s best lawyers. 250 attorneys-at-law from all across Austria chose the best of the best.

fwp’s Markus Fellner leads the score as Austria’s number 1 banking law expert. Michael Hecht (Public Business Law), Paul Luiki (Eastern Europe) and Gregor Schett (Investor Law) also scored top rankings among the elite. High potential Benedikt Kessler was ranked as the sixth most noticeable junior lawyer in Austria.

‘It is a particular honour for myself and for fwp to have won in the Banking Law category again. We are extremely proud of our young high potentials, in particular of Benedikt Kessler, who deserves having been elected one of Austria’s best junior lawyers’,, says fwp partner Markus Fellner.

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Vienna, April 2018. Markus Fellner talks with Legal500 about the main points that differentiate fwp from the competitors.

The Hall of Fame will highlight, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession. The criteria for entry is to have been recognized by Legal500 as one of the elite leading lawyers for seven consecutive years.

To read the complete interview please click here.

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Vienna, June 2018. The Austrian Federal Procurement Act entering into force this year will bring about quite a few changes, i.e., also with a view to compliance systems in procurement law.

In his most recent legal corner article, Rudolf Pekar describes the necessity of implementing compliance systems with a view to procurement law and puts a special focus on conflicts of interest. This issue is of great importance in particular to contracting authorities and their external advisors, often acting as contract-awarding bodies. These new legal provisions will pose a significant challenge to them.
To read the complete article please click here.

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Vienna, 22 June 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH (fwp) advised Steinhoff Group on the sale of Kika/Leiner to SIGNA Group.

The fwp team headed by Markus Fellner advised Steinhoff Group on the sale of Kika/Leiner. With some 5,500 employees and more than 70 locations in Austria and Eastern Europe, Kika/Leiner has been part of Steinhoff Group since 2013.

“The sale marks a highlight in the months of fwp providing restructuring advice to Steinhoff Group ever since the company was hit hard by an accounting scandal. This transaction is a major contribution towards stabilising Kika/Leiner Group and thus towards safeguarding thousands of jobs”, commented Markus Fellner.

Given its international dimension, the complexity of the structures and the large number of stakeholders involved, along with the requirement to come to a closing as quickly as possible, this transaction is unprecedented in Austria. It provided fwp with an opportunity to fully leverage its leading position in distressed M&As and to draw on its long-standing expertise in real estate and retail.

The fwp core team consisted of fwp partners Markus Fellner (Restructuring & M&A/lead), Florian Kranebitter (Restructuring /Finance), Paul Luiki (Corporate), Lukas Flener (Merger Control), Christian Thaler (Corporate), fwp junior partner Elisabeth Fischer-Schwarz (Insolvency) and associates Pia-Alena Havel and Julian Zarre (both Corporate).

Other legal counsel: for SIGNA (Nikolaus Arnold, Arnold Rechtsanwälte), for Kika/Leiner (Ursula Reisch, Urbanek Lind Schmied Reisch) and for one of the real estate companies (Peter Oberlechner, Wolf Theiss).

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Vienna, July 2018. Once again, the most recent JUVE ranking for economic administrative law recommends fwp as one of the leading law firms in environmental law as well as procurement law.

fwp partner Michael Hecht is considered, yet again, one of the top-level experts in public commercial law. Moreover, with a view to the expanded field of procurement law, the ranking highlights the development of fwp lawyer Rudolf Pekar who has already managed to make a name for himself among the other competitors.

“We consider the ranking a confirmation of our decision to expand the practice group. We are also very happy that the further expansion of the procurement law practice group by Rudolf Pekar is being appreciated”, says fwp partner Michael Hecht.

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Vienna, 23 July 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH (fwp) advised Steinhoff Group on the agreement negotiated with the creditors about the principle of restructuring.

Over the past few months, fwp intensively supported Steinhoff Group in its efforts to conclude an agreement with its creditors regarding the principle of a comprehensive restructuring concept. From the perspective of the Austrian holding companies alone, the total amount of liabilities concerned is EUR 7.5 billion.

As disclosed by Steinhoff Group on ad-hoc basis on 20 July 2018, an important breakthrough was achieved by reaching agreement with the creditors on the terms of a lock-up agreement. The lock-up agreement, which includes both the term sheet for the restructuring and the detailed schedule for the implementation of the restructuring measures, follows a support period structured by fwp.

The contractual documentation is scheduled to be finalised and implemented in concrete terms over the next few months.

“Following long days and nights of negotiations with the Management of Steinhoff Group, we have now achieved an important milestone for the restructuring of the Group. This mandate is a particular challenge, given the multi-layered corporate structure of Steinhoff Group on the one hand and a complex international web of creditors on the other. The reorganisation concept developed by us now provides a realistic chance for successfully implementing the restructuring and satisfying all sides”, says fwp partner Markus Fellner.

Having more than 12,000 locations in 30 countries and some 112,000 employees worldwide, Steinhoff is among the largest global furniture groups.

Thanks to fwp’s vast experience, the law firm advised on all important restructuring cases related to Austria in the past few years. The Steinhoff mandate opened up a completely new dimension in this practice area, though.

The core team or fwp comprised fwp partners Markus Fellner (lead), Paul Luiki and Florian Kranebitter, fwp junior partners Elisabeth Fischer-Schwarz and Benedikt Kessler, and associates Philipp Bunzl, Pia-Alena Havel, Armin Sommerauer and Julian Zarre.

Other legal counsel: Linklaters LLP London (Richard Bussell for Steinhoff-International), and, on the creditors’ side, Allen & Overy LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, among others.

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Vienna, August 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner (fwp) adds valuable competence and expertise to the team by promoting Lukas Rehrl to junior partner.

“The quality of our performance is based on the successful development of our teams – this includes taking on board long-serving associates who wish to work with us as attorneys after having successfully passed their exam and being admitted to the Austrian bar association”, explains founding partner Markus Fellner.

Mag. Lukas Rehrl has been an associate with fwp since 2014 and has now become a registered attorney-at-law in July 2018. He specialises in Corporate / M&A as well as contract law. He also supported the civil law and labour law team between 2014 and 2017.
He studied law at the University of Vienna (including time abroad at the University of Lucerne in 2012) and graduated successfully in 2013.

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Vienna, August 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner has been nominated for this year’s JUVE Award in the category “Law firm of the year Austria”.

Conferred every year, the JUVE Award looks further than the performance in individual legal fields and recognises the general development of Austrian law firms as well as, in particular, their achievements with respect to management.

The award ceremony will take place on 25 October 2018 during a gala event in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt.

You can find the list of the nominees here.

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Vienna, September 2018. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner (fwp) adds valuable competence and expertise to the team by promoting Michael Froner to junior partner.

“The quality of our performance is based on the successful development of our teams – this includes taking on board long-serving associates who wish to work with us as attorneys after having successfully passed their exam and being admitted to the Austrian bar association”, explains founding partner Markus Fellner.

Michael Froner has been an associate with fwp since 2013 and has now become a registered attorney-at-law. He specialises in intellectual property, real estate projects & construction law as well as anti-trust and competition law.
He graduated from the University of Vienna’s law school in 2011.

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Vienna, September 2018. Motivated and energetic – this is how the new junior partner of Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner (fwp) presents himself. One of Austria’s leading law firms acclaims Clemens Gabriel’s new status as attorney-at-law registered since 19 September 2018.

“The quality of our performance is based on the successful development of our teams – this includes taking on board long-serving associates who wish to work with us as attorneys after having successfully passed their exam and being admitted to the Austrian bar association”, emphasises founding partner Markus Fellner.

Mag. Clemens Gabriel, LL.M. joined fwp as an associate in 2014 and has provided a valuable addition to our team as junior partner since 19 September 2018. He specialises in real estate law, environmental law and state aid law. Before joining fwp, Clemens Gabriel assisted an NGO as a paralegal for several years. He graduated from the University of Vienna’s law school in 2010 and earned his LLM degree three years later. Promoted to junior partner, Clemens Gabriel is looking forward to continued cooperation: “It fills me with pride to be able to work with such phenomenal colleagues also in future and to take on challenging mandates.”

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