start-ups news

Schoenherr advised the shareholders of the Austrian oral hygiene start-up Playbrush on the sale of the majority shares to the international health care company Sunstar Group.

After Schoenherr recently advised the Austrian fintech company Bitpanda on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020, the firm successfully advised on another start-up financing: Under the leadership of partner Thomas Kulnigg, the Schoenherr team advised Carbomed Medical Solutions, an Austrian FemTech start-up, on a EUR 3m financing. The financing round was led by aws Gründerfonds.

Schoenherr advised Austrian fintech Bitpanda, on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020 led by Valar Ventures, and including other fintech investors such as Speedinvest. The funding secures USD 52 million to further drive Bitpanda's expansion.

As part of the EU's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 (effective from January 2020) laying down CO₂ emission performance standards for new automobiles and new light commercial vehicles (the "Regulation") was issued. Under the Regulation, individual manufacturers (or associations of manufacturers under Article 6 of the Regulation) will be obliged, inter alia, to reduce emissions from new automobiles by 37.5 % by 2030 (compared to the 2021 target of 95 g CO₂/km).

An essential element of the blockchain and the technology behind it is the validation of transactions, i.e. confirmation that data in the blockchain ledger is entered rightfully¹. But how, exactly, can data entered in a decentralised ledger be validated? Who does the validating? These questions arise once you look deeper into the workings and structure of transactions on the blockchain.

Gone are the days when purchasing new software was mainly the job of procurement departments and driven by economic considerations. Nowadays, IT projects are incredibly complex and require the seamless interaction of many different stakeholders.

The battle between traditional taxi drivers as well as their supporters and those advocating a more digitalised approach focused on ridesharing applications such as Uber, Lyft or Bolt began a few years ago and is being waged in almost every country. In Poland, Uber started back in 2014 as the first mobile taxi application on the Polish market. Taxi drivers began protesting the app almost immediately after it became clear that consumers preferred Uber's efficiency and prices to those of traditional taxis. Criticism from traditional taxi drivers about the safety of Uber and the qualifications of its drivers led to the need for legal changes. A first draft amendment of the Polish Act on Road Transport was submitted to the Council of Ministers in July 2017 (the "Amendment").

This year, Romania's first tech unicorn reached a USD 7bln valuation. This has stirred things up, expanding the horizons for many Romanian entrepreneurs. While still far from being a major start-up ecosystem, the country is showing its potential, mostly due to high-quality tech talent available at still manageable costs.

In the life cycle of a start-up¹, the exit is the final act and beginning of the next cycle.

Schoenherr advised Austrian company Credi2 GmbH on an investment from Germany's Volkswagen Bank, which will henceforth hold a 20 % share in Credi2.

Schoenherr Prague advised Spanish manufacturer Torrot Electric Europa, S.A. ("Torrot") on the delivery of complex technology solutions for scooter sharing (including also electric scooters, advanced IT technologies and IT services) to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab s.r.o. ("ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab"), which will use them for its new e-scooter sharing service BeRider in Prague. 

Start-ups generally

A typical start-up is usually founded by three or four individuals as a limited liability company or a joint stock company focused on IT or online businesses. As the start-up grows, a number of investors (ten or more) come on board (venture capital funds and angel investors) by acquiring convertible loan instruments, newly issued or existing shares. The start-up company is focused on building up and investing in its team of specialists, which is often its main asset. This explains why employee share option plans are so common. Gradually, the client network expands and the brand is established. And then, a strategic company comes along with a lucrative offer to acquire the start-up.

From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing, start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing rounds or to overcome valuation issues.

From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing g rounds or to overcome valuation issues. We interviewed Ivaylo Gospodinov, one of the managing partners of the investment fund BlackPeak Capital.

Schoenherr and CONDA AG ("CONDA") have succeeded in digitalising the shares of the joint stock company and enabled registered shares to be managed via blockchain technology. 

Schoenherr is harnessing its start-up and venture capital expertise by advising Dutch capital investment firm Endeit Capital in a EUR 50 million Series C financing round for Austrian tour booking platform TourRadar. 

Schoenherr has partnered with weXelerate, the largest start-up & innovation hub in Central Europe, as an active supporter and channel partner. On Monday 26 September the weXelerate on-boarding week begins for 55 promising international start-ups that will start developing their ideas in the innovation centre of the Nouvel Tower in Vienna.

Schoenherr has advised the Roche Group ("Roche") on the acquisition of all shares of mySugr GmbH ("mySugr"). 

The typical way to invest in an Austrian company (eg, a limited liability company (LLC) or joint stock company) is by way of a capital increase. Alternatively, the investor can acquire existing shares from shareholders and provide capital contributions to the company.(1)