Survival Guide Austrian Investment Control

Johannes Barbist

Johannes is a partner in the regulatory team of the Austrian law firm Binder Grösswang. He advises on public commercial law, regulatory law, EU law and compliance related matters. Johannes also represents his clients vis-à-vis (regulatory) authorities and courts. He is the author of numerous specialist publications and a lecturer at the University of Innsbruck.

Regina Kröll

Regina is a partner in Binder Grösswang's regulatory team. She advises on public commercial law and EU law with a particular focus on investment screening, foreign trade and life sciences. She has published widely in these areas. Regina represents her clients vis-à-vis (regulatory) authorities and courts.

Austria is a small jurisdiction, but a major "player" in FDI screening. The planned acquisition of an Austrian target company by a foreign investor (i.e., non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss investor) often requires an FDI approval. This is due to the wide scope of the Austrian FDI screening regime. Only where the Austrian target is a micro-enterprise, Austria can securely be deleted from the list of (potentially) notifiable countries. Foreign investors and their international counsels must be aware that the trigger events in Austria are low.

The present booklet provides an overview of the Austrian FDI regime, both as regards its scope of application and the approval proceedings. We have also included some statistics to underpin the relevance of Austrian FDI screening in the M&A setting. A bilingual text of the ICA provides the legislative context.

In summer 2020, the authors published the first short commentary on the then new Austrian FDI legislation and have since then gained extensive practical experience in dozens of FDI proceedings before the Austrian authority.