Penta investment group is looking to offload some of its smaller assets and is shifting its focus on bigger projects, such as strengthening its healthcare division or building the second international airport in Prague.
The group has nearly closed the sale of Pet Centrum, a retail chain, to a Czech investor, as well as the Polish retailer Empik Media & Fashion (EM&F), Penta’s head Marek Dospiva, told Mladá Fronta Dnes. Meanwhile, it is looking at buying hospitals in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Dospiva said that Penta wants to increase its revenues to €250m by 2016, up from €140m – €150m. The investor continues to work on plans for the creation of a new commercial airport in Vodochody just outside Prague where it hopes to attract low-cost carriers.
The steps are part of strategic change under which the company holds assets for a longer period and downgrades its portfolio. Last year Penta spent €88m on acquisitions, down from €370m in 2012.
