bpv Hügel

The firm: bpv Huegel is one of the leading law firms in Austria. It is regarded as the first choice for highly complex matters that require specialised legal and tax knowledge, many years of experience and a practical business sense. In addition to several offices in Austria and an office in Brussels, the law firm is a founding member of “bpv LEGAL” – an alliance with offices in Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague – and has a strong presence in the CEE region as well as broad international reach through worldwide partner offices.

Exceptional commitment to its clients, excellent know-how and results-oriented efficiency make bpv Huegel the first choice for challenging legal issues, significant transactions and critical litigation.

bpv Huegel strives to provide the highest standard of advice in each core area. As a result, bpv Huegel has been one of the leading providers in all areas of commercial law for many years. The full-service law firm covers all relevant specialties, including corporate and business, mergers and acquisitions, capital market/financing and banking, tax, competition/antitrust/EU, real estate, labour, reorganisations, litigation/arbitration, dispute resolution, restructuring and insolvencies, regulatory and public procurement, environment and energy, IP/IT/data protection, private clients, foundations and business succession.

Located in Brussels next to the EU institutions, bpv Huegel also offers an international platform for EU matters (with a focus on antitrust/merger control, regulatory and public procurement law, as well as general EU law).

The firm, which specialises in national and international commercial law, was founded in 1979 and currently employs over 100 staff and around 50 lawyers.

Areas of practice
Corporate/M&A – recent work highlights: European Directories Group, a Triton portfolio company, in connection with the unification of its fully-owned Austrian group company, Herold Business Data GmbH and its majority-owned subsidiary dogado GmbH, based in Dortmund; Zeus Group in its acquisition of Petruzalek Austria with 11 branches in the CEE region; Raiffeisen Informatik on its exit from SoftwareONE.

Competition, antitrust and EU: representation of Nichicon, one of the largest Japanese producers, in the so-called Capacitors Case in the proceedings before the European Commission; liaising and co-ordination with other counsels worldwide; representation of BP Europa SE in all antitrust matters in Austria; representation of A1 Telekom Austria AG in all antitrust matters in Austria; representation of Gas Connect (OMV Company) in all antitrust matters; representation of OTIS in numerous proceedings with regard to claims for compensation for damages following the Elevator Cartel; representation of representation of RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG in all merger control and antitrust matters in Austria.

Capital markets, banking and finance: €4.1bn merger between RZB and listed RBI (highest profile transaction in the Austrian banking industry in 2017); joint Bookrunners on €305.6m capital increase of BUWOG; €1.6bn BUWOG spin-off; €660m capital increase of Erste Group Bank AG; €350m Valneva (NYSE, ATX) SE – cross-border merger of Intercell and Vivalis.

Tax: tax advice in the M&A transactions listed above, cross-border group structures, private foundations, estate planning; tax litigation; other tax advice confidential.

Dispute resolution: representation in ad-hoc as well as VIAC corporate and contract interpretation arbitration matters; lead counsel in ICC arbitration following multi-million international M&A project in the automotive industry; advice to and representation with regard to competition law implications in an ICC energy arbitration case; representation in complex litigation proceedings in the building industry; defence in multi-plaintiff follow-on private enforcement cases; advice and representation in litigation matters in the energy industry.