The Legal 500

CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati is ‘really outstanding’ and the team, led by Edith Hlawati, has ‘very good industry knowledge and is prompt and helpful’. The firm was one of the few that managed to advise on both equity and debt capital markets work in a tough market, picking up new share issuances for both Simonsfeld and Wienerberger in 2009/10. The practice also represented Strabag on the placement of €100m worth of notes on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Peter Knobl is recommended.

Dorda Brugger Jordis is ‘technically extremely strong for Austrian capital markets work’ and ‘very responsive, proactive, detailed and client oriented’. The team is led by Andreas Mayr and Christoph Brogyànyi, and acted as local counsel to a consortium of international banks including Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, on the €4bn capital increase of UniCredit. It is also rated for its work on derivatives and alternative investment products.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has ‘great commercial sense and market knowledge’. Maria Pfluegl leads the team, which continues to receive top-notch instructions from its impressive client roster, such as advising Lufthansa on the acquisition of Austrian Airlines and its public bid for the free float shareholders of the airline.

Wolf Theiss’ capital markets team leverages off the firm’s first-rate relationships with banking clients. In 2010 the practice also increased its experience in corporate bond issuances, with practice head Richard Wolf leading a team that advised UniCredit Bank and Erste Group on the public offering of up to €200m in senior fixed rate bonds by Borealis, the chemicals and plastics manufacturer. Claus Schneider is recommended.

The team at Binder Grösswang Rechtsanwälte is best known for its debt rather than equity capital markets experience, and has been busy working on bond issuances for real estate investors, including representing Raiffeisen Wohnbaubank. Clients say that working with the team is ‘successful, fruitful and stress free’. Florian Khol and Michael Binder are recommended for their equity expertise, while Tibor Fabian is strong on derivatives and debt work.

Highlights for CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH included advising on the largest Austrian bond issue of 2009, representing a consortium of European banks consisting of Deutsche Bank, Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Bank as bookrunners on a €1.2bn bond issue by the Styrian hospital operator KAGes. Martin Zuffer heads the group.

Christian Temmel heads the team at DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach, which advised both Porr AG, the Vienna-listed construction group, and UniCredit Bank Austria and Erste Bank as underwriters in a €100m corporate bond issue.

Schoenherr handled a number of corporate bond issuances in 2010, including advising Citigroup and RBS on the Austrian aspects of a €2.5bn secured high yield bond issued by Conti-Gummi Finance. Peter Feyl leads the team and is ‘an excellent lawyer with a very broad legal background’. ‘In comparison to large London or Frankfurt firms they seem to have a fairly low partner/associate ratio, so that you can access advice from experienced partners without burning a lot of associate time,’ according to one client.

Weber Maxl & Partners is a niche capital markets firm led by Stefan Weber, who ‘is a permanent fixture on the capital markets scene and a bit of an elder statesman’. Ewald Oberhammer is also highly rated.

bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte is a regular on high-profile mandates and has solid relationships with domestic banks. In 2010 the seven-partner practice represented Immofinanz on the sale of €180m of treasury shares under derivative structures and on the repurchase of €74m of convertible bonds. Hanns Hügel is recommended.

Baker & McKenzie Diwok Hermann Petsche Rechtsanwälte GmbH leverages off its strong international network and has been particularly successful advising international clients on equity issues. Highlights of 2010 included acting as underwriters’ counsel on the €29m capital increase of a listed Austrian real estate company. Eva-Maria Ségur-Cabanac leads the team alongside Philipp Spatz.

Brandl & Talos Rechtsanwälte GmbH has a great reputation for capital markets work. In 2010 the team was boosted by the hire of Christian Thaler from DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach. Ernst Brandl provides advice that ‘is technically excellent, very efficient and he keeps in mind the cost/outcome ratio of his actions and his advice’, and led a team that advised Spar on a €150m corporate bond issue.

Peter Winkler heads the practice at Eisenberger & Herzog, which had an active 2010 advising on bond issuances and a number of regulatory securities matters, including representing one client before the Austrian Supreme Court. The team advised Hypo Bank Burgenland in relation to a €700m senior notes listing on the Vienna Stock exchange.

Herbst Vavrovsky Kinsky Rechtsanwälte GmbH is rated for its experience in equity capital markets and structuring of leveraged capital products. In 2010 the firm advised listed company Constantia Packaging on its public takeover by One Equity Partners. Phillip Kinsky and Christoph Wildmoser are recommended.

At Karasek Wietrzyk Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Otto Dietrich leads a seven-lawyer team that has experience advising on corporate bond issuances.

Rainer Wachter heads the compact, three-lawyer office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP. It advised Atrium European Real estate as issuer on a dual share issuance on the Vienna Stock Exchange and NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.