It has been more than a year since five partners left DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach to launch boutique firm Benn-Ibler and although the firm is eager to banish the departures in February 2010 from memory, the market has not forgotten, and competitors suggest that the firm has not replaced the quality it lost.However, the current team has been active on several new finance transactions....
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It has been more than a year since five partners left DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach to launch boutique firm Benn-Ibler and although the firm is eager to banish the departures in February 2010 from memory, the market has not forgotten, and competitors suggest that the firm has not replaced the quality it lost.
However, the current team has been active on several new finance transactions. In one, Wolfgang Lafite advised equity investor TA Associates on the €30 million financing for the acquisition of dental reconstruction specialist, Amann Girrbach, from Austrian private equity house Alpine Equity. The firm was also active for Raiffeisenlandesbank, advising on €30 million financing of a new photovoltaic power plant at the BMW construction factory.
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"It's really a difficult situation there," remarks one lawyer when considering DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach. "In traditional strategic M&A they are less viable than they used to be," says another M&A partner....
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"It's really a difficult situation there," remarks one lawyer when considering DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach. "In traditional strategic M&A they are less viable than they used to be," says another M&A partner.
The insolvency of A-Tec has provided work for the firm recently as it has acted on the acquisition of several of the bankrupt groups subsidiaries. Partner Max Becker advised Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction on the purchase of the Indian boiler manufacturer AE&E Chennai Works for €20.5 million in January 2011, while Christoph Mager advised the Swiss engineering company StarragHeckert Group on the acquisition of the German based Dörries Scharmann for €70 million in February.
The firm was also active on the cross-border €2.5 billion merger of public companies Partygaming and bwin entertainment, listed in London and Vienna, respectively. Partner Christian Temmel advised Partygaming in conjunction with Freshfields London, on Austrian law.
Another notable deal saw partner Phillip Dubsky advise investor TA Associates on the acquisition of a stake in Austrian dental group Amann Girrbach from Alpine Equity Management.
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