Gerhard Rettenbacher

Highly accomplished corporate and tax attorney with over 20 years of experience.

Gerhard O. Rettenbacher is a highly accomplished corporate and tax attorney with over 20 years of experience in advising stock-listed corporations in front-page multi-jurisdictional M&A, project finance and real estate transactions, in particular in the US, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Gerhard is frequently getting mandated by major clients because of his exceptional transactional and management experience in that region and his business-oriented and pragmatic advice.

Until late 2004 Gerhard was a corporate and tax partner of a leading Austrian firm and international network where he headed the tax department and had substantial managing functions in the international corporate and tax practice area groups.

Now he is exclusively advising selected national and international clients.

Areas of expertise

Areas of expertise include M&A, project finance, international tax law, and European law. Clients also strongly appreciate Gerhard’s wide experience in financial matters, which he gained while working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and his thorough legal and business education.

Successes

Gerhard has earned stellar academic credentials in Austria and the U.S. including an MBA in business taxation. Gerhard shares his knowledge with clients in frequent international publications and seminars on current topics. He is admitted to the Austrian Bar and to the Slovak Bar.

EXEMPLARY TRANSACTIONS

$200M export financing of Russian oil group. Experience with similar deals enabled to close in record time.
$140M financing of takeover of Hungarian listed chemicals group. Coordination of 40+ lawyers because deal was politically sensitive and accordingly complex.
$280M acquisition of Bulgarian fixed line phone operator. Realized NPV of $240M in savings for client through streamlining of corporate and tax structure.
$340M financing of acquisition of Vienna Millennium City. Largest real estate deal of the year 2003 in Austria.
$310M acquisition of wireless phone operator. To date largest M&A deal in Slovenia.
$1.4B going private of international paper group. Unprecedented steps to achieve reorganization.
$210M start-up of telecommunications company. Introduced new technique for capitalization.

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

2005 – Present

Gerhard Rettenbacher
International Advisory Services
Vienna

Advise listed companies in major US, Asian, and Central and Eastern European M&A, project finance and real estate transactions.
Develop corporate and tax structures for investments in the US, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

2000 – 2004

CMS Strommer Reich-Rohrwig Karasek Hainz
(firm split up 2004, now CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz)
Partner
Vienna

Head of tax department and managing functions in international corporate and tax practice area groups.
Responsible for international business within CMS network.
Managed and acquired key client accounts.
Brought in $1.4M in annual firm revenue.
Advised listed companies on front-page multi-jurisdictional M&A and project finance transactions, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe (Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia).
Realized NPV of $240M in savings for client through streamlining of tax structure.
Represented firm in international client acquisition activities, tax conferences, U.S. road show.
Introduced more result-oriented working environment for associates and thereby increased quality, output, and job motivation and satisfaction; improved knowledge management and deal capture systems

1999 – 2000

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Senior Associate
Vienna

Advised listed companies in major international M&A and project finance transactions.
Completed $1.4B reorganization and going private of key client.
Realized NPV of $130M in savings for client through streamlining of corporate and tax structure.
Developed knowledge management in corporate practice area group.

1999

Shaw & O’Brien, LLP
((firm merged, now Higgs, Fletcher & Mack LLP)
Intern
San Diego, California

Worked primarily on corporate, securities, and estate planning matters.

1997-1998

Wolf Theiss
Associate
Vienna

Advised in major international M&A and project finance transactions.
Advised on corporate and tax structures for corporate reorganizations and private investments.
Trained junior associates in corporate and tax law matters.

1995-1997

Dorda, Brugger & Jordis Wien
Associate
Vienna

Advised in major international M&A transactions.
Developed corporate and tax structures for acquisitions by strategic investors or investment banks.
Served as interim co-manager of pharmaceuticals company.

1992-1994

PricewaterhouseCoopers
Assistant CPA
Vienna

Audited multinational corporations and reviewed complex tax structures.

EDUCATION

1999

University of San Diego School of Law
Master of Laws in Taxation, summa cum laude
San Diego, California

Class rank: Top 1% (1 / 52)
Recipient, Fulbright Scholarship
Recipient, Graduate Law Merit Scholarship
Lecturer, Tax Law Society

1997

University of Vienna
Doctor of Laws, with honors

Recipient, Outstanding Merit Scholarship
Doctoral thesis, “International Corporate Restructuring and the Merger Tax Directive”
Participant, International Taxation Seminar, International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, Amsterdam

1995

Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
Master of Business Administration, with honors
Vienna

Class rank: Top 1% (3 / 225)
Thesis, “European Union Non-Discriminatory Regulations and Limited Tax Liability”
Majored in business taxation, and accounting and auditing

1992

University of Vienna
Master of Laws
Vienna

Class rank: Top 2% (12 / 580)
Recipient, Outstanding Merit Scholarship

MEMBERSHIPS

International Fiscal Association
Tax Reform Commission of Austrian Business Association
Fulbright Alumni Club
Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Alumni Clu

LANGUAGES

Fluent in English
Fluent in German
Basic French

INTERESTS

Passionate mountain climber (Mt. Whitney, 2001; Kilimanjaro, 2002) and skier (Elbrus 2012, Mt. Shasta 2017)
Classic and modern English and German literature
Road trips (U.S., East Africa, Central and South America, East and Southeast Asia)
U.S. politics and history (discovery of the West)
Antique alpine furniture and folk art