PPF Group's History
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In February PPF Group has acquired a 100% stake in Serbia-based Telenor Banka from Telenor Group, having obtained the necessary regulatory approval from National Bank of Serbia. The transaction is natural follow up of the previous acquisition of Telenor Group’s telecommunications assets in Central and Eastern Europe.
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PPF Real Estate Holding acquired Nevsky, a major shopping centre in St Petersburg from Stockmann Group, a Finnish retailer.
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In January 2019, PPF Group announced that it would not acquire a 95% equity interest in the Bulgarian media company Nova Broadcasting Group Jsc., from Modern Times Group (MTG), or the remaining 5% from Eastern European Media Holdings S.A.. The transaction failed to receive the necessary approvals from the Bulgarian anti-trust authority.
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In January 2019, PPF Real Estate Holding acquired Pinkas Palace, a unique, historical building. The building is situated in historical part of Prague on Kampa Island and occupies a total area of 3,223 sq m.
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In November 2018, PPF Group signed an agreement with the Russia-based Miratorg Agricultural and Food Group for the sale of part of the assets of the RAV Agro Agricultural Group from the Orel region to PPF.
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Between June and September 2018, Oblastní Galerie Liberec (the Liberec Regional Art Gallery) hosted the most extensive exhibition to date of photographs by J Sudek, J Funke, F Drtikol, and other prominent Czech and Slovak photographers. The photographs were lent by the PPF Collection and almost 12,000 people visited the exhibition.
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After obtaining necessary regulatory approvals until the end of July 2018, PPF Group has settled the acquisition of Telenor’s telco assets in Central and South-East Europe. Following the closing of said transaction, PPF became a sole owner of current Telenor’s operators in Hungary, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia. The transaction was the largest of its kind in the region from 2011.
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At the end of November, 2017 PPF Group has signed an agreement on acquisition of 100% of shares in Škoda Transportation, including other assets related to the company’s operations, such as „Škoda“ trade mark and real estate property instrumentál for the company’s operations. PPF Group also committed itself to provide an operating loan to finance Škoda Transportation’s essential needs, as part of the deal. The completion of the acquisition took place in April, 2018, following an approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. Škoda Transportation is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of transport vehicles. Besides the country of its origin, the Czech Republic it also has subsidiaries in Germany, Finland, the US, Poland, Hungary and Russia.
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PPF Group has bought a minority stake in CD-Telematika, a major Czech Internet and telecommunications services provider, which is in line with the Group’s strategy to invest into country’s telecommunications infrastructure.
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PPF sold the Eldorado retail chain to a group of Russian investors related to the Safmar financial and investment group. PPF owned Eldorado, Russia’s second-largest electronics retail chain, from 2008; during that time, Eldorado was transformed into a multi-channel retailer offering a wide range of household goods, both offline and online.
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PPF Group became the sole shareholder in Česká telekomunikační infrastruktura a.s. (CETIN). In accordance with legislation, minority shareholders’ ownership rights attached to all company shares passed to the main shareholder. In return for their CETIN shares, the majority shareholder provided minority shareholders with consideration that, combined with their O2 shares, reflected a significant rise in the value of the telecom assets since 2014, when the PPF Group had entered the company.
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PPF Group sold a number of real estate projects in Prague, among them the “Line”, “Trojmezí”, and “Prague Eye Towers” projects.
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The number of employees of PPF Group companies surpassed 100,000.
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PPF became the first in Europe to make a voluntary separation in the telecommunications sector by splitting O2 Czech Republic into two companies: Česká telekomunikační infrastruktura (CETIN), the owner and manager of the Czech Republic’s largest fixed and mobile network, and the purely retail mobile operator, O2. This demerger and the restructuring of the telecommunications companies pushed up the value of both of them.
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Home Credit entered into an agreement with the US telecoms operator, Sprint, and started offering consumer finance services to the operator’s customers in the US.
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The Czech National Bank named PPF Group a systemically-important financial institution.
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PPF purchased O2 Czech Republic, the largest Czech telecommunications operator, and the number-three on the Slovak mobile market, O2 Slovakia.
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PPF was granted a nationwide licence to provide consumer finance services in China.
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The Russian economy experienced a sharp decline, causing Home Credit losses that ran of millions of euros.
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PPF sold off its stake in EPH.
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SOTIO launched a phase III international clinical trial treating patients with prostate cancer.
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In a two-part transaction, PPF sold its 49% stake in Generali PPF Holding (GPH) to the Generali Group and kept selected GPH insurance assets in Russia.
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PPF bought the Bestsport Arena company, becoming the owner of Prague’s O2 arena, which is one of the most modern multipurpose halls in Europe.
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The number of employees at PPF Group companies stood at more than 85,000.
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Jiří Šmejc sold his 5% share in PPF Group to other shareholders and became a minority shareholder in Home Credit and Air Bank.
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PPF sold its stake in the Russian bank Nomos.
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PPF sold its 50% stake in Sazka to KKCG partners.
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Home Credit entered the Indian market and started rolling out branches in Indonesia and the Philippines.
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SOTIO, a biotechnology company developing new therapies for oncology diseases, became a part of PPF Group.
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PPF acquired a majority stake in the Rav Agro agricultural holding in Russia.
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PPF and the KKCG Group bought the collapsing Czech lottery company Sazka.
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Establishment of Air Bank, a new retail bank specialising in online services.
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PPF Group became the sole owner of Eldorado, the Russian retail chain.
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PPF Group became the first foreign entity to be licensed by the Chinese regulator to provide consumer finance services in China.
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Jean-Pascal Duvieusart became a minority shareholder in PPF Group.
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Number of employees: 53,154.
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PPF bought a stake in Eldorado, one of the largest domestic appliance and electronics retail chains in Russia.
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PPF, along with J&T and Daniel Křetínský, formed Energetický a průmyslový holding, giving it access to the energy sector and industry.
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PPF became an important shareholder in Polymetal, one of the leading Russian silver and gold mining companies.
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PPF was prepared for the global financial crisis by restructuring the Group as a whole and streamlining its headcount.
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Home Credit started consumer finance operations in China.
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PPF and Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali became the joint founders of Generali PPF Holding, one of the largest insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS.
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Petr Kellner became a member of the Board of Directors of Assicurazioni Generali.
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PPF Group obtained a significant minority stake in Nomos, a large Russian bank.
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Ladislav Bartoníček became a minority shareholder in PPF Group.
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Home Credit launched consumer finance services in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus. PPF Group also started offering insurance on these markets.
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PPF sold eBanka to the Raiffeisenbank Group.
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The Group’s headcount was verged on 20,000.
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Jiří Šmejc became a 5% shareholder in PPF.
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Home Credit issued its first international Eurobonds - to the value of USD 275 million.
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PPF Group opened a branch office in Beijing.
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PPF banka was licensed to trade in securities and became a member of the Prague Stock Exchange.
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PPF sold TV NOVA to CME, a multinational media corporation.
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PPF Asset Management was formed, gradually establishing itself as the investment hub for all companies within PPF Group.
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The Group’s companies had in total 10,248 employees.
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PPF took control of TV Nova, the first private television station in the Czech Republic.
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PPF returned to Russia, where it started offering consumer finance services (through Home Credit) and insurance services on the local market.
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The Czech Government decided to sell the state-owned 30% stake in Česká pojišťovna to PPF Group, which ended up with a shareholding in excess of 90% as it progressed towards 100% ownership of the insurance company.
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PPF purchased a majority of shares in První městská banka, now PPF banka, from the City of Prague.
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PPF exercised an option to purchase further shares and gain a majority in Česká pojišťovna.
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PPF became the general sponsor of the Summer Shakespeare Festival for the first time.
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PPF started financing the restoration and construction of a gallery at the site of the Prague studio of the world-renowned photographer, Josef Sudek.
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A Home Credit branch was opened in Slovakia.
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PPF sold shares in several industrial enterprises and started to implement a basic change in its business strategy, moving towards retail financial services.
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The acquisition of Expandia banka (subsequently eBanka), the first online bank in the Czech Republic.
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PPF started sponsoring the Jára Cimrman Theatre in Prague.
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The Czech economy suffered a GDP setback and double-digit inflation and plunged into crisis. In Russia, the rouble’s tailspin and the harsh economic crisis pushed PPF into the red. The Group pulled out of the Russian market temporarily, selling off its remaining assets there.
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Česká pojišťovna’s restructuring saw the formation of Home Credit as a platform for providing consumer finance services.
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Česká pojišťovna, with PPF at the helm, made the grade in the face of adversity when it successfully handled claims stemming from disastrous flooding in Moravia.
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The number of employees at PPF rose above 100.
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PPF Investiční holding arose from a merger of the four original privatisation funds from the initial wave of voucher privatisation.
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Under a shareholder agreement, PPF was made responsible for the management of Česká pojišťovna and spearheaded its root-and-branch restructuring and modernisation. Ladislav Bartoníček was appointed as the insurer’s CEO.
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PPF majetková a.s. was established to develop and manage real estate projects. Total investments for clients came to CZK 1 billion during the first year of its operations.
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PPF Capital Management a.s. was formed primarily to seek out investors for enterprises from the PPF portfolio that were not designated as strategic holdings.
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PPF kick-started the process of acquiring Česká pojišťovna, the largest company on the insurance market in the Czech Republic, by purchasing a 20% stake.
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PPF burzovní společnost a.s., specialising in securities trading and asset management, was established.
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PPF set up two mutual funds for the second wave of voucher privatisation, which bagged a further 140,000 shareholders and shares in 45 enterprises with a nominal value of CZK 2.4 billion.
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In Russia, PPF established the Association of Peter the Great Funds. In the privatisation process, it took over the management of major interests in 80 Russian industrial and construction companies with an estimated market value of USD 50 million.
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At the beginning of the year, PPF-R (Russia) was established to capitalise on the experience gained by PPF from the Czech voucher privatisation and take part in the Russian Federation’s privatisation process.
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PPF investment funds netted more than 3% of all investment points in the first wave of voucher privatisation, as more than 186,000 people opted to invest with them. The funds themselves later held shares in 202 enterprises with an aggregate nominal value of 4.9 billion crowns, ranking them sixth by volume of assets under management.
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Správa Prvního privatizačního fondu was transformed into PPF investiční společnost a.s. in keeping with the law. It had seven employees.
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In September 1991, Petr Kellner and his partners set up the company named Správa Prvního privatizačního fondu in readiness for the forthcoming voucher privatisation. The initial registered capital was 100,000 Czechoslovak crowns. The company borrowed 20 million crowns from Sklo Union Teplice company to launch its voucher privatisation campaign. The first four PPF privatisation funds were registered at the end of the year.
PPF was founded in the Czech Republic in 1991 as an investment fund and participated in the privatisation of the country´s economy following the major social change that took place after 1989. The Group's first major investment was its acquisition of Ceska pojistovna, the largest insurer in the Czech Republic. Ceska pojistovna‘s successful transformation from a state-owned, inefficient company into a functioning private business laid the foundation for its subsequent successes.
PPF then founded Home Credit, the consumer finance provider. It also acquired and built PPF banka and eBanka in the latter half of the 1990s. PPF also started its expansion into Slovakia. PPF's investment activity in the Czech Republic increased significantly in 2004 as the Group successfully concluded the restructuring of the largest domestic private TV channel (TV NOVA) and then sold it to US-based CME.
2002 saw PPF continue its pursuit of growth by entering the Russian market, making its first investments there in insurance and consumer finance. Despite initial difficulties, the Group persevered with its investment strategy and the Russian market has remained the focal point of its business interests ever since. In time, PPF successfully launched Home Credit there, and invested not only into the banking and insurance sectors, but into silver and gold mining (Polymetal) as well.
In 2007, PPF signed an agreement with Italian-based insurance company Generali to form Generali PPF Holding, a joint venture active in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries. This significant step made PPF a truly global business. In keeping with this global approach, the company also entered Asian markets, primarily China and Vietnam, followed by Belarus, Kazakhstan, India, Indonesia and Philippines, predominantly through the development of the consumer finance segment.
In more recent years, PPF has focused on strengthening and developing its existing investments, whilst continuing to seek new investment and business opportunities. In 2014, PPF acquired a majority stake in O2 Czech Republic, the country´s largest telecommunications operator, which also owns one of the major mobile operators in Slovakia. The Group´s investments in real estate are also successfully underway, focusing not only on emerging markets like Russia but also building a presence in developed Western European countries, the Netherlands and Germany in particular.
As well as individual portfolio projects, from which PPF has exited with significant return on investment (such as TV NOVA, the main Czech lottery company Sazka, Central European energy holding EPH, Nomos-bank the Russian retail bank) the Group take a longterm approach to developing key sectors of interest, particularly banking and non-banking financial services, real estate, retail, insurance (currently in Russia), metal mining – together with partners in Polymetal – and most recently telecommunications and biotechnology.