BRANDL TALOS advises lead investor on EUR 18m Series A financing round of Ribbon Biolabs

Press release • Venture Capital & Start Ups from Roman Rericha, Stephan Strass

Ribbon Biolabs GmbH, a DNA synthesis company, has completed a EUR 18m Series A financing round led by Hadean Ventures with participation from, amongst others, Lansdowne Partners, Helicase Venture and existing investors IST cube and tecnet equity. A BRANDL TALOS-deal team led by Roman Rericha and Stephan Strass advised the lead investor, Hadean Ventures, on this financing round.

Ribbon Biolabs was founded in 2018 to redefine the potential of synthetic DNA. The funds will be used for the commercialization of the company’s DNA synthesis technology, which uses an innovative approach integrating combinatorial optimization algorithms to duie the automated enzymatic assembly of DNA. This includes the set-up of production facilities with key technology partners and the preparation for expansion into the US market.

» We are excited to support Ribbon Biolabs on its mission to fully automate long DNA synthesis. It was a pleasure working with Roman, Stephan and their team on this transaction and we look very much forward to many further projects with them. «
Walter Stockinger, Managing Partner at Hadean Ventures

The BRANDL TALOS-deal team was led by Roman Rericha and Stephan Strass and further consisted of Elena Ciresa and Céline Dobnikar. Ribbon Biolabs was advised by Herbst Kinsky (Carl Walderdorff and Christina Bernhart).

The team
Roman Rericha
Partner / Fund Formation, Venture Capital & Start Ups, Corporate Law & Transactions
Roman represents clients in complex cross-border M&A and private equity transactions. Austrian and international venture capital funds regularly turn to him for assisting with investments in Austria. His expert advice also guides start-ups through large-scale financing rounds.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Mag. iur. 2005),
Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics, (Mag. rer.soc.oec. 2007)
Stephan Strass
Partner / Venture Capital & Start Ups, Corporate Law & Transactions, BioTech & Lifescience
Stephan advises innovative start-ups, institutional and strategic investors and other companies on acquisitions, financing rounds, joint ventures and exit transactions with a focus on highly regulated industries such as life sciences, biotech and leisure & entertainment. He further specializes in commercial transactions in the life science and biotech sector, including university spin-offs, strategic collaborations, patent and technology license agreements and IP purchase transactions.

He has co-authored commentaries on the EU Merger Act and the Investment Fund Act, and is the author of many academic publications.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Mag. iur. 2015)
Harvard Law School, Master of Laws (LL.M. 2019)