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Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky pressed on with his buying spree this week as EP Group, one of his investment vehicles, finalised a deal to take private the owner of Royal Mail in Britain.
Kretinsky, 47, a former investment bank lawyer who built one of Europe’s largest energy groups, Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH), has been diversifying into retail, media and other areas.
His net worth stands at $9.4bn (€8.7bn), according to Forbes.
Kretinsky operates through various investment vehicles, including EP Group and VESA Equity Investment. The latter has a portfolio valued at more than €3bn, according to its website.
Some investments by firms controlled by Kretinsky and his long-term business partner, Patrik Tkac include:
Kretinsky holds slightly over 50% in EPH through its parent EPCG, which owns scores of energy companies across western and central Europe.
The energy business of EPCG reported a combined core profit (EBITDA) of 7.3 billion euros for 2023.
International Distributions Services, The owner of Britain’s Royal Mail said on May 29 it had agreed to a £3.57bn (€4.2bn) takeover by Kretinsky. Kretinsky has also accumulated a 31.4% stake in the Dutch mail and package delivery group PostNL through VESA, a regulatory filing showed in November 2022. Kretinsky invested 1 billion Czech crowns in November to buy a stake in the French mailroom equipment company Quadient.
Kretinsky’s Casino buyout consortium said in February that the Paris Commerce court had approved its plan to bail out the debt-laden French retailer under an accelerated protection procedure. The consortium will end up with 50.4% to 53% of Casino shares, based on a July 2023 agreement. VESA became the largest shareholder of the French retailer Fnac Darty, data by French markets regulator AMF showed. VESA owns 29% of Fnac Darty’s voting rights, according to the investment vehicle’s website.
VESA also owns 12.3% voting rights in the US sportswear and footwear retailer Foot Locker. Kretinsky is the controlling shareholder of the Metrol group with 49.99% of the German retail group’s voting rights, German weekly “Lebensmittelzeitung” reported in March. In Britain, VESA has a 9.99% stake in the supermarket group Sainsbury, LSEG data showed.
France’s Vivendi agreed in June to sell its publishing business Editis to International Media Invest, a unit of Kretinsky’s Czech Media Invest (CMI). Vivendi said in November it would receive a total of €653m after finalising the sale. Kretinsky also owns several French titles via CMI, such as Elle and news magazine Marianne. VESA holds 5% in French TV company TF1.
The German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp said on May 23 that its supervisory board approved a planned sale of 20% of its steel division to Kretinsky despite continued opposition from labour representatives. Thyssenkrupp said in April that the parties are also in talks about the acquisition of a further 30% stake, aiming for a 50-50 joint venture.
Kretinsky is trying to persuade creditors to side with him in the battle for Atos, a source close to the matter said in May. His EP Equity Investment (EPEI), in partnership with British fund Attestor, is offering to erase more than 90% of Atos’ €4.8bn financial debt and sell large parts of the French IT company, with the proceeds partially distributed to creditors.
Logistics firm DoDo, which provides delivery services to customers in e-commerce, retail and food delivery, said in May 2022 that Kretinsky would inject €60m into the group over two years to support its international expansion.
Kretinsky’s 1890s Holdings group has a 27% stake in the English Premier League soccer club West Ham, according to the club’s website, in addition to his ownership of the leading Czech team, Sparta Prague..
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