Austria: Schoenherr advises Austrian coffee software scaleup Cropster on acquisition of Firescope

Acting as lead counsel, Schoenherr provided comprehensive legal advice throughout the transaction. It marks Cropster's first acquisition since growth investor Verdane, supported by Schoenherr, became the company's majority shareholder in 2024.

"It was a pleasure to support Cropster with this milestone," said Schoenherr partner Thomas Kulnigg, who co-led the advisory team together with attorney at law Niklas Kerschbaumer. "The acquisition of Firescope and resulting presence in Asia further cement Cropster's position as a leading software provider for the global coffee industry."

"Firescope marks an exciting first add-on acquisition for Cropster, and we are enthusiastic about continuing to support Cropster's strategic growth through further acquisitions," added Niklas Kerschbaumer.

Founded in Innsbruck in 2008, Cropster provides digital tools for every stage of the coffee value chain – from producers and roasters to cafés – and delivers real-time data and optimisation insights to thousands of customers in more than 100 countries, including Starbucks and Whole Foods. On a growth trajectory, the scaleup is planning multiple acquisitions to realise its "crop-to-cup" vision of digitising the entire supply chain and making its solutions accessible to small roasters worldwide.

With the acquisition of Firescope, Cropster gains a strong foothold in the independent roasting segment, where Firescope has established itself as the leading provider for over 3,000 small roasters across South Korea, Japan and other Asian markets. 

The Schoenherr team was led by Thomas Kulnigg (partner) and Niklas Kerschbaumer (attorney at law), who were supported by Daniel Gritsch (associate). KIM & CHANG acted as local advisor to Cropster in South Korea and Everstride (Bernhard Trösch and Xavier Panchard) advised Cropster on financial M&A matters.