act legal Czech Republic je zařazena do žebříčku IFLR1000 pro rok 2023

Mezinárodní ratingová publikace IFLR1000 již od roku 2011 svým hodnocením pravidelně zařazuje advokátní kancelář act legal Czech Republic (act Řanda Havel Legal) mezi významné advokátní kanceláře v České republice. I v roce 2023 tak act Řanda Havel Legal patří v oblastech bankovnictví & financování, fúzí & akvizic, vývoje projektů („Project development“) a restrukturalizace & insolvence k doporučovaným kancelářím.

IFLR1000 provádí nezávislý celosvětový průzkum trhu právních služeb v segmentu finančního práva a identifikuje vedoucí advokátní kanceláře v jednotlivých zemích a právních oblastech. act Řanda Havel Legal se tak i v mezinárodním měřítku zařazuje opakovaně mezi etablované advokátní kanceláře působící v České republice.

Kompletní hodnocení zde

Successful restructuring: long-established film manufacturer Rhein-Plast becomes part of the Ringmetall Group

Following successful restructuring, the traditional manufacturer of special films for the pharmaceutical industry, among others, will become part of the Ringmetall Group on 1 February 2022. This secures around 90 jobs and the continued existence of the two plants in Bad Dürkheim.

In mid-2021, Rhein Plast applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings in voluntary administration in accordance with § 270 ff, 270b InsO („protective shield proceedings“) as a result of the unfortunate combination of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the raw materials crisis.

In the course of the preparation and implementation of the self-administration proceedings, Dr Felix Melzer, Dr Alexander Höpfner and Dr Sven Tischendorf supported the management of Rhein-Plast GmbH as general representatives both operationally and as experts in insolvency law. Nick Piepenburg and Marc Schneider (Turnaround Management Partners) provided business management support for the self-administration.

Together, they succeeded in bringing the Rhein-Plast company back into the „profit zone“ in just six months and, on this basis, in finding an investor who will continue to develop the company and the site in the long term.

Long-term perspective under the umbrella of the Ringmetall Group

The Ringmetall Group will take over the business operations, the employees and the plants of Rhein-Plast at the company headquarters in Bad Dürkheim completely on 1 February 2022 by way of a so-called „asset deal“. Together with the existing holdings in the packaging sector, Nittel (Halle/Saale) and Tesseraux (Bürstadt), the Ringmetall Group covers a broad spectrum of the market for special packaging.

Existing management remains on board

The existing management team of Roger Eisemann (Managing Director), Thomas Eisemann (Head of Sales) and Christian Gumpert (Head of Production) will remain with the company.

Location and approx. 90 jobs secured

Thanks to the very constructive and open cooperation with the works council, it was possible to completely avoid redundancies within the framework of the self-administration procedure. 

The self-administration procedure could be completely avoided

Existing staff surpluses were reduced by the self-administration in mutual agreement with the affected employees and by setting up a transfer company.

Further development focuses on products for the pharmaceutical industry, among others

Rhein-Plast GmbH focuses on the production of primary packaging materials for the pharmaceutical industry and other applications with high hygiene requirements. With annual sales of approximately EUR 13 million in 2021, Rhein-Plast GmbH currently employs around 90 people.

Another success of act’s redevelopment practice

With the market-renowned self-administration proceedings of, among others, Picard, JMT, Hallhuber, Vossloh-Schwabe, WFS, Transfertex and Saurer Spinning Solutions already successfully concluded in 2020/2021, act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency and restructuring practice, led by partners Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA, Dr. Alexander Höpfner and Dr. Felix Melzer, is one of the market leaders in Germany.

Eigenverwaltung Rhein-Plast:

Roger Eisemann (Geschäftsführer)

Berater Rhein-Plast:

act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr. Felix Melzer (Generalbevollmächtigter),
Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (Generalbevollmächtigter), Dr. Alexander Höpfner (Generalbevollmächtigter), Dr. Nina Honstetter (Arbeitsrecht)

Turnaround Management Partners, Düsseldorf/Frankfurt: Nick Piepenburg, Marc Schneider (§270b-Bescheinigung, Sanierungskonzept)

Kanzlei Weilbach – Unternehmensverkauf und Nachfolge, Pleisweiler-Oberhofen: Udo A. Weilbach (M&A-Prozess)

Administration of Rhein-Plast: Reimer Rechtswälte, Mannheim: Thomas Rittmeister

Ringmetall Group:
Christoph Petri (board member), Konstantin Win-terstein (board member), Rainer Carqueville, Clemens Aiple

Advisors to Ringmetall Group:
ACURIS Rechtsanwälte, Munich: Dr. Dirk Stahlberg, Dr. Gerd Müller-Volbehr
WPH GmbH & Co. KG Wirtschaftsprüfer, Schwabach: Stefan Maier

act legal Germany restructures automotive supplier Elkas

Dr. Alexander Höpfner was appointed trustee for Elkas, an automotive supplier – especially for carrier systems in the area of ​​body parts – by the Marburg District Court. The company, which recently had annual sales of around EUR 20 million, got into difficulties due to the weak order situation, triggered by the Corona crisis, and the exorbitant rise in steel prices. But the outlook is optimistic – the company’s business operations with more than 100 employees will continue unchanged and the wages and salaries of the workforce are initially secured through the insolvency payments. General representative: Thomas Rittmeister, partner at REIMER

New ways at Eterna StaRUG proceedings: First amendment of a StaRUG restructuring plan in ongoing proceedings and simultaneous entry of a new investor

The restructuring plan pursuant to StaRUG of eterna Mode Holding GmbH („Eterna“) was unanimously approved by the creditors on 10 September 2021. Shortly before the vote on the already submitted restructuring plan, act legal Germany, under the leadership of Dr. Alexander Höpfner, facilitates the entry of another investor in Eterna in the already ongoing restructuring plan proceedings, which increased the quota for the bondholders in the restructuring plan by 25%.

act legal Germany was mandated by Robus Capital Management Ltd. advised funds („Robus„) only at the end of August 2021 with the aim of being able to enter into Eterna as an investor in the short term in order to implement the best possible satisfaction of creditors.

At that time, the restructuring plan had already been filed pursuant to StaRUG and the meeting of the plan affected parties to vote on the restructuring plan („vote min„) had been set for 2 September 2021. With the help of act legal Germany, the voting date was moved to 10 September 2021, at which the plan stakeholders now unanimously approved the restructuring plan.

The entry of Robus made it possible to improve the quota for bondholders in the restructuring plan by a further 25%. Together with the Quadriga Capital Funds („Quadriga„), Robus is now supporting the transformation course embarked upon by the company with fresh capital.

Legally, the investor entry was implemented by Robus taking over shares on the basis of a capital increase provided for in the restructuring plan on the basis of contracts notarised before the voting date. In this way, it was ensured that the restructuring plan already submitted only had to be changed very slightly in the voting meeting. The voting date was thus preceded by an extensive M&A transaction.

Thanks to its special restructuring and M&A expertise, act legal Germany obtained an amendment to the restructuring plan in the ongoing proceedings (and thus a higher quota for the bondholders) for the first time in what are probably the largest StaRUG proceedings to date, and thus enforced and implemented the entry of a new investor / shareholder in the already ongoing proceedings in record-breaking time.

With a large number of market-renowned self-administration proceedings already successfully completed in 2020/2021 (most recently Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG) and distressed M&A transactions (most recently the acquisition of the insolvent Nanogate Group by the US Techniplas Group), act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency/restructuring and distressed M&A practices are among the market leaders in Germany.

Advising Robus: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr Alexander Höpfner (lead, restructuring), Dr Matthias Müller, MBA (restructuring / M&A), Dr Fabian Brocke, LL.M. (corporate M&A), Dr Felix Melzer (restructuring), Sarah Landsberg (corporate M&A)

Successful termination of the insolvency proceedings of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG

Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (self-administrator) and Dr. Alexander Höpfner (self-administrator) ensure the successful termination of the insolvency proceedings of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG by withdrawing the insolvency petition.

Sven Tischendorf in the function of CRO, Alexander Höpfner in the function of CIO and Dirk Andres in the function of administrator have been responsible for the self-administration of the traditional German company, one of the world’s leading textile machinery manufacturers, since 16 June 2021.

Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1904 and has been part of the global technology group Saurer, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, since July 2013. With annual sales of around EUR 450 million, Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG employs around 1,200 people at a total of three locations in Germany.

The unfortunate combination of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the tariff and trade wars on the strongly international supply relationships had put an unexpectedly heavy strain on the business of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG’s business was unexpectedly burdened.

In the past two months of the self-administration proceedings, the company has experienced a brilliant development as a result of the immediate stabilisation of business operations through self-administration and a generally good market momentum. The order intake was also increased to an unprecedented level during the insolvency proceedings.

Parallel to the operational tasks and the securing of stable financing, a limited investor process was initiated on the part of the proprietary and non-cash management, which was accompanied by IMAP M&A Consultants AG.

In the course of this investor process, a newly formed joint venture (https://www.rieter.com/de/medien/medienmitteilungen/newsdetail/rieter-erwirbt-drei-geschaefte-von-saurer) consisting of the previous shareholder and the listed Swiss Rieter Group prevailed over an international field of renowned strategists and financial investors.

With the investor solution that has now been found, the associated withdrawal of the insolvency petition and a 100% satisfaction of creditors, one of the fastest and most successful insolvency proceedings ever in Germany has been achieved.

The insolvency application was withdrawn on 17 August 2021. On the same date, the Aachen Insolvency Court lifted all protective measures.

To ensure a smooth transition, the team around Sven Tischendorf will continue to be available to the new management of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG will continue to be at the disposal of the new management.

With a large number of market-renowned self-administration proceedings already successfully concluded in 2020/2021, act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency and restructuring practice, led by partners Dr Sven Tischendorf, MBA and Dr Alexander Höpfner, is one of the market leaders in Germany.

Saurer self-administration: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (Lead, General Representative, CRO), Dr. Alexander Höpfner (Lead, General Representative, CIO), Dr. Felix Melzer (Litigation), Dr. Fabian Laugwitz, MBA, LL.M (Commercial)

Saurer’s trustees: andres partner, Düsseldorf: Dr. Dirk Andres, Dr. Claus-Peter Kruth, Daniel Salzburg

Successful closure of the self-administration proceedings of WFS Wurst-Fleischwaren-Service Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH

The supplier of sausage and meat products WFS Wurst-Fleischwaren-Service Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH from Mörfelden-Walldorf near Frankfurt am Main has successfully completed its insolvency proceedings after about nine months. With its decision of 23 July 2021, the Darmstadt Local Court cancelled the insolvency proceedings over the company’s assets. Prior to this, the creditors‘ meeting in mid-June had unanimously accepted the insolvency plan submitted by the company.

WFS filed for insolvency proceedings in self-administration in October 2020. The difficult situation in the transport and hotel industry due to the effects of the worldwide COVID 19 pandemic was the reason for the decision to carry out a restructuring within the framework of self-administration with an insolvency plan.

The company will then focus on its core competencies and the expansion of its unique selling points in order to secure its existing business. In addition, new customer segments besides the classic transport and hotel business are to be developed in a targeted manner. In order to create a cost structure that is competitive in the long term, significant staff reductions were implemented in the course of the insolvency proceedings. „With these painful cuts, we have created the necessary conditions for the preservation of more than 40 qualified jobs and thus further strengthened the production location in Mörfelden-Walldorf,“ says Managing Director Helge Klein. After it became known that the state aid (bridging aid III) would not be paid out within the current insolvency proceedings, the insolvency plan had to be finalised at short notice and the process had to be brought to a tight conclusion. This was ultimately achieved through the cooperation of all parties involved in the process. Ultimately, the success of the restructuring was made possible by extensive financial contributions from the previous managing partner.

WFS is an owner-managed family business with a history of almost 50 years. The company supplies the first-class hotel trade, the catering trade and the transport catering trade with a comprehensive range of meat and sausage products comprising around 2,800 articles. In 2019, WFS achieved sales revenues of around EUR 37 million with an annual average of 117 employees.

With the market-renowned self-administration proceedings of Baden-Board, Picard, JMT, Hallhuber and Vossloh-Schwabe already successfully completed in 2020/2021 and the self-administration proceedings of Saurer Spinning Solutions currently still ongoing, act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency and restructuring practice, led by partners Dr Sven Tischendorf, MBA, Dr Alexander Höpfner and Dr Felix Melzer, is one of the market leaders in Germany.

WFS trusteeship: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr Alexander Höpfner (trustee)

Dr Felix Melzer, Dr Sven Tischendorf, MBA and Dr Alexander Höpfner are responsible for the self-administration of Rhein-Plast GmbH, Bad Dürkheim

Felix Melzer, Sven Tischendorf and Alexander Höpfner have been responsible for the self-administration of the long-established manufacturer of special films, among other things, since 18 June 2021.

In the course of the preparation and implementation of the self-administration proceedings pursuant to § 270 ff, 270b InsO („protective shield proceedings“), Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA, Dr. Alexander Höpfner and Dr. Felix Melzer strengthen the management of Rhein-Plast GmbH as general representatives both operationally and as experts in insolvency law.

The unfortunate combination of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the raw materials crisis on the strongly international supplier relationships had unexpectedly placed a heavy burden on the business of Rhein-Plast GmbH. Rhein-Plast GmbH has good substance and at the same time the order situation is currently increasing significantly. With the help of the protective umbrella, the operative business can be continued in an orderly manner in every respect and can also be developed sustainably.

Rhein-Plast GmbH is an owner-managed family business based in Ungstein, a district of Bad Dürkheim. It was founded in 1959 in Ludwigshafen-Ruchheim and has been producing at the Bad Dürkheim-Ungstein site since 1969.

Rhein-Plast GmbH produces high quality films (PE films) and packaging materials made of recycled plastic from polyethylene granulates. The films produced are processed into bags, sleeves, pouches, rolls and sacks of various sizes and designs for a wide range of packaging applications. Rhein-Plast GmbH’s customers are primarily companies in the pharmaceutical, medical and bio-tech industries, the chemical industry, the food industry, suppliers to the automotive industry, the clothing industry, furniture manufacturers and waste disposal companies. The company focuses on the production of primary packaging materials for the pharmaceutical industry and other applications with high hygiene requirements.

With an annual turnover of approximately EUR 12 million, Rhein-Plast GmbH employs 107 people.

With the well-known self-administration proceedings of Baden-Board, Picard, JMT, Hallhuber and Vossloh-Schwabe already successfully completed in 2020/2021 and the self-administration proceedings of Saurer Spinning Solutions currently underway, act AC Tischendorf’s insolvency and restructuring practice, led by partners Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA, Dr. Alexander Höpfner and Dr. Felix Melzer, is one of the market leaders in Germany.

Rhein-Plast self-administration: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr. Felix Melzer (general representative), Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (general representative), Dr. Alexander Höpfner (general representative)

Rhein-Plast insolvency administrator (Sachwalter): Reimer Rechtsanwälte, Mannheim: Thomas Rittmeister

270b certificate/self-administration planning: Turnaround Management Partners, Düsseldorf/Frankfurt a. M.: Nick Piepenburg, Marc Schneider

act legal Germany responsible for self-administration of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG

Sven Tischendorf, in the function of CRO and Alexander Höpfner, functioning as CIO, have been responsible for the self-administration and restructuring of leading global textile machinery manufacturer Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG since June 16, 2021.

In the course of preparations and the implementation of self-administration proceedings according to § 270 ff, 270 d InsO („protective shield proceedings“), Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (CRO), as well as Dr. Alexander Höpfner (CIO) reinforce the management of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG as general representatives, both operationally and as insolvency law experts.

The COVID-19 pandemic and it’s negative effects, in combination with the impact of tariff and trade wars on strongly international supply relationships, had unexpectedly weighed heavily on the business of Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG disposes of considerable substance while maintaining a currently very established order situation. Thanks to the protective shield, business operations can in all respect be continued in an orderly manner, as well as further developed in a sustainable manner.

Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG

Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG is a traditional German company founded in 1904. Since July 2013, it has been part of the global technology group Saurer, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. With annual sales of approximately EUR 450 million, Saurer Spinning Solutions GmbH & Co. KG employs around 1,200 people at a total of three locations in Germany. Along the various stages of the textile value chain, Saurer Spinning Solutions plays a leading key role in the global market amongst renowned spinning technology brands such as Schlafhorst and Zinser (high-tech components and systems for textile machines) as producers of machines and systems. With the market-renowned self-administration proceedings of Baden-Board, Picard, JMT, Hallhuber and Vossloh-Schwabe, which have already been successfully completed in 2020, the practice led by partners Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA and Dr. Alexander Höpfner, as part of act AC Tischendorf, is one of the market leaders in Germany in the area of insolvency and restructuring.

Self-Administration Saurer: act AC Tischendorf Rechtsanwälte, Frankfurt: Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (lead, chief-representative, CRO), Dr. Alexander Höpfner (lead, chief-representative, CIO), Dr. Felix Melzer (handling of proceedings), Dr. Fabian Laugwitz, MBA, LL.M (Commercial)

act legal Germany’s Dr. Alexander Höpfner was appointed as trustee of Transfertex

Dr. Alexander Höpfner was appointed as trustee of Transfertex in self-administration proceedings (protective shield proceedings) by order of the Aschaffenburg Insolvency Court dated May 20, 2021

Transfertex GmbH & Co. Thermodruck KG has been producing environmentally friendly transfer paper for the textile industry since 1970 with the quality claim „Made in Germany“ in digital printing and gravure printing and supplies customers worldwide. On the basis of the transfer paper, clothing for well-known fashion labels and sports jerseys, including those for participants in the Football Champions League, are produced from polyester fabrics. By combining digital printing and gravure printing, Transfertex is the only supplier in Germany capable of producing up to 1 million meters of transfer paper in a very short time. Transfertex currently employs 140 people.

The cancellation and postponement of sporting events, such as the Summer Olympics or the European Football Championships, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to a massive slump in shirt sales. In the apparel segment for fashion labels, there were serious declines in sales as a result of the textile retail closures caused by the lockdown. The aim of the protective shield and self-administration proceedings granted by the Aschaffenburg Insolvency Court is to safeguard Transfertex’s substance and bridge the lockdown.

After the successfully completed self-administration proceedings of Baden-Board, Picard, JMT, Hallhuber and Vossloh-Schwabe in the last six months alone, the successful insolvency and restructuring practice of act legal Germany led by partners Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA and Dr. Alexander Höpfner can further expand act legal Germany’s strong market position in well-known insolvency cases with the appointment of Dr. Alexander Höpfner as administrator of Transfertex.

Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA, Dr. Alexander Höpfner and Dr. Felix Melzer ensure profitability and refinancing of the international Vossloh-Schwabe Group within the scope of self-administration proceedings



The Vossloh-Schwabe Group enjoys a tradition of more than 100 years as one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of LED systems, lighting control systems and lighting technology components with subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Until the end of 2019, the Vossloh-Schwabe Group was part of the Panasonic Group and was sold to the private equity investor Fidelium Partners at the beginning of 2020. With a total of more than 1,000 employees, the Vossloh-Schwabe Group generated sales of EUR 160 million in the fiscal year of 2019.

After the creditors have unanimously approved the insolvency plans submitted by the self-administration on May 03, 2021, the self-administration proceedings (protective shield proceedings), pending since May 2020, will be able to be lifted in the near future. In addition to optimizing the entire production and sales organization, the reorganization carried out in the course of self-administration proceedings likewise comprised of partial plant closures and relocations of operating units. By these measures, the long-term profitability of the entire Vossloh-Schwabe Group is ensured and the permanent existence of jobs is safeguarded.

Fidelium Partners continues to support the Vossloh-Schwabe Group as a shareholder and, as part of the capital measure implemented in the insolvency proceedings, has extensively re-funded the Vossloh-Schwabe Group. Thus, the Vossloh-Schwabe Group is not only fully financed but has also regained its full operational capacity and competitiveness.

After the successful completion of self-administration proceedings of Baden-Board, Picard, JMT and Hallhuber in the past six months alone, act legal Germany’s insolvency and restructuring practice can record a further restructuring success with the Vossloh-Schwabe Group within one of Germany’s market-renowned proceedings.

Self-Administration, Consultancy Vossloh-Schwabe Group: act AC Tischendorf: Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA (lead, chief representative, CRO), Dr. Alexander Höpfner (lead, chief representative, CIO), Dr. Felix Melzer (process handling), Dr. Fabian Laugwitz, MBA, LL.M. (supplier management), Dr. Stephan Schwilden, MBA (Employment law), Dr. Nina Honstetter (Employment law)