The Energy Billionaire Who Stormed French Elite With M&A Barrage (BLOOMBERG)

 

Daniel Kretinsky has a huge cash pile available for acquisitions that’s fueling a series of high-profile deals over the past year, especially in France.

Kretinsky is using record profits from his energy business to fund acquisitions.
Kretinsky is using record profits from his energy business to fund acquisitions. Photographer: Stanislav Krupar/laif/Redux

Armed with a war chest that has made him one of the most prominent dealmakers in Europe, he is now taking advantage of the record profit his energy business is churning out to snap up companies pressured by high debt. Besides winning a deal to gain control of troubled French supermarket chain Casino Guichard Perrachon SA in a multi-billion-euro restructuring process last month, he has announced investments in sectors as diverse as technology and book publishing.

The 48-year-old owner of the largest privately-held energy conglomerate in Europe has a net worth of about $8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, buoyed mainly by a bumper year for power utilities during the continent’s energy crisis. His main company, the Prague-based Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding AS, had €37 billion ($40.1 billion) of revenue last year, a fourfold leap since 2020, and expects its business to keep growing.

That’s boosting the cash-pile Kretinsky has available for acquisitions, fueling a series of high-profile deals over the past 12 months — especially in France — that have put him under the microscope of the country’s business and political elite. For years, he projected an image of an elusive businessman, and while he remains protective of his private life, he has begun to discuss his investments more openly — speaking to French media during the Casino deal, for instance, to explain his interest in the business.

Kretinsky declined to comment.

3 Comments on "The Energy Billionaire Who Stormed French Elite With M&A Barrage (BLOOMBERG)"

  1. Lionel Devanton | 28/08/2023 at 22:29 |

    oui et ? tu sais vraiment plus quoi mettre sur ton blog pourri

    • Map, Blog admin | 29/08/2023 at 00:24 |

      Blog pourri que tu lis tous les jours. Ce monsieur appelé Lionel Devanton met un à deux commentaires par article depuis 2 mois pour dire que ce que j’écris est de la merde, mais il est rivé à lire tous les articles. Si je passais en version payante, ce serait mon pilier de comptoir 😀

  2. UnAutreSalarié | 29/08/2023 at 14:33 |

    Étonnant, non ? Cet article ne remet nulle part en doute l’intégrité et l’origine de la fortune de M. Křetínský. Comme quoi, seuls Les Républicains fantasment sur le sujet (et restent étonnamment muets à propos de l’argent libyen ou russe touché par leur dernier président.

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