CZECH REPUBLIC: Petr Kellner, the 99% owner of investment company PPF which has stakes in companies including Škoda Transportation, was amongst five people killed in a helicopter crash in Alaska on March 27.
Kellner was reported to be the richest person in the Czech Republic, owning 99% of Dutch registered holding company PPF which has assets of €44bn in financial services, telecoms, media, biotechnology, real estate and mechanical engineering. This includes an 87·8% stake in Škoda Transportation and a 29·04% stake in ČD Telematika.
Škoda Transportation had been owned by US asset management company Appian, but its rail activities were spun off to a management buy-out in 2010. The business was bought by PPF Group in November 2017, but last year the former Appian executive Michal Korecký who had been a member of the MBO team bought back a 12·2% stake. Plzen-based Škoda Transportation Group now has 16 subsidiaries in the rail, public transport and electrical sectors, including Škoda Transtech in Finland, Ostrava-based Škoda Vagonka, Pars Nova, tram builder Ekova and a 50% stake in Turkish bus manufacturer Temsa.
