The Legal 500

CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati has ‘broad experience in capital markets transactions as well as profound in-depth knowledge in all related legal areas’. The team is experienced advising both issuers and underwriters and saw an increase in corporate bond work in 2011. It advised Morgan Stanley and Raiffeisen Centrobank on one of the few equity issuances of the year, Verbund’s €1bn capital increase. The practice also advised OMV Alpine on a €90m bond placement. Edith Hlawati leads the team, which features the ‘pragmatic and knowledgeable’ partners Volker Glas and Peter Knobl.

Dorda Brugger Jordis ‘gives high-quality advice applying international standards’. The team was kept busy with corporate bond issuances for issuers and underwriters, and recently advised Intercell on the €33m issuance of convertible notes with two increase options. The team also represented a syndicate of international banks including Nomura and Goldman Sachs as initial purchasers and arrangers on the purchase of €375m of high yield bonds relating a bond issuance and parallel bank finance deal for the acquisition of Hyva group by a private equity investor. Andreas Mayr heads the team, which also features the ‘highly responsive’ Christoph Brogyànyi.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer recently advised paper manufacturer Sappi on the structuring and implementation of its €360m securitisation programme of trade receivables. Practice head Maria Pfluegl mainly handles equity work. Friedrich Jergitsch is also recommended, as is principal associate Stephan Pachinger.

Wolf Theiss is ‘very reliable, and helps to identify and minimise risks’. The team is particularly strong advising underwriters and recently represented a syndicate of international banks as joint dealer-managers in the €1.3bn buyback of notes issued by the Republic of Austria to guarantee Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank when it was in crisis in 2009. It also advised Verbund on its €1bn capital issue. Claus Schneider and practice head Richard Wolf are recommended.

Baker & McKenzie Diwok Hermann Petsche Rechtsanwälte GmbH’s up-and-coming team has acted on an impressive run of capital markets deals recently, including advising the joint bookrunners on one of the few major equity issuances of 2011, Lenzig’s €619m ‘re-IPO’. Eva-Maria Ségur-Cabanac jointly heads the team alongside the ‘ever reliable’ Philipp Spatz, ‘who has in-depth knowledge of CEE transactions’.

Binder Grösswang Rechtsanwälte is competitively priced and usefully has ‘inroads to the FMA and the Vienna Stock Exchange, smoothing the process and helping to avoid misunderstandings before they arise’. The team advised on Lenzig’s €619m ‘re-IPO’ equity issuance. The team also advised a wide range of Austrian banks on corporate bond issuances. Florian Khol has ‘an incredible ability to keep calm even in tense situations’. Michael Binder is recommended for equity work, and Tibor Fabian is strong on derivatives and debt work.

Brandl & Talos Rechtsanwälte GmbH’s ‘level of service is outstanding’ and it ‘offers very fair fees’. This small firm is developing an excellent name in capital markets and is particularly praised by clients for the amount of partner involvement in deals. ‘The firm is more goal-oriented and less theoretical in its advice than many other firms in this practice area’, says one client. The team recently advised Raiffeisen Centrobank and MM Warburg & Co on Polytec Aktiengesellschaft’s share placement. Thomas Talos heads the team, which also includes Ernst Brandl (the ‘capital markets brain of the firm’), Christian Thaler (‘excellent’) and Christian Lenz (‘flexible’).

CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH has good pedigree advising on debt and equity deals. In 2011, it advised private equity group Petrus Advisers and construction group Strabag on acquiring a 20% stake in Vienna-listed real estate company Conwert. Martin Zuffer heads the group.

DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach has been busy with debt-side instructions, and practice head Christian Temmel led advice to Warimpex on its €40m rights issue in 2010. The team also represented the UK-listed PartyGaming on its merger with Austria-listed bwin.

Peter Feyl leads Schoenherr’s underwriter-oriented practice, which recently advised a syndicate of international banks as joint bookrunners on Sappi Papier Holding’s high yield notes issuance.

Weber & Co. is a boutique that receives high praise for smaller, complex capital markets deals. The experienced Stefan Weber is recommended, as is Ewald Oberhammer.

bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte OG is recommended for equity work, particularly convertible bonds. The team has good links to domestic banks, particularly regular client Immofinanz, which it represented on its €515m convertible bond issue in 2011, combining treasury shares and conditional capital as security. Hanns Hügel is recommended.

Eisenberger & Herzog recently advised HTI on its successful restructuring and refinancing including the issuance of new hybrid bonds. Practice head Peter Winkler is recommended.

Herbst Vavrovsky Kinsky Rechtsanwälte GmbH is experienced in equity deals and structured financing. Phillip Kinsky and Christoph Wildmoser are recommended.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s clients praise the seamless co-operation with the firm’s offices internationally. The team recently represented Atrium on listing issues concerning the restructuring of Atrium’s various bonds listed on the Vienna and London stock exchanges. The ‘excellent’ Rainer Wachter has ‘an efficient way of working’, and Markus Haberfellner is also recommended.