DLA Piper advises innovation unit of Commerzbank Group neosfer on spin-off of Lissi GmbH

DLA Piper has advised neosfer on the spin-off of Lissi GmbH. Lissi, known as a pioneer in the field of identity wallets and verifications, announced its formation as an independent start-up, supported by investments from neosfer, 9.5 Ventures and the founders. The spin-off is a milestone for neosfer, where Lissi emerged from a research project around digital identities in 2019. For the Commerzbank innovation unit, this is the first spin-off of a self-developed project.

With its software platform, Lissi offers a comprehensive range of solutions designed to issue, store and verify proofs of identity and thus enable trustworthy interactions with identity wallets in accordance with European standards. The European Union recently reached an agreement on the eIDAS 2.0 regulation to introduce European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallets across the European Union. This opens up a completely new market for Lissi.

The early-stage investor neosfer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerzbank with a portfolio of over 30 digital and sustainable start-ups. The company examines economically and socially relevant future technologies, promotes and develops sustainable, digital solutions and brings these profitably to Commerzbank and its customers.

The DLA Piper team was led by partner Simon Vogel and also included counsel Marcel Nurk and associate Maria Uhlig (all Corporate/Private Equity, Munich) in the core team. Also involved were partner Pascal Kremp (Employment, Munich), of counsel Martin Heinsius, counsel Sven Bischoff (both Tax, Frankfurt) and senior associates Annika Heinz and Dr Felisa Frey (both Employment, Munich).