Michal Strnad buys 14% Pirelli stake for CZK 24 billion

Czechia's richest man, Michal Strnad, continues to diversify his investments beyond the defence business: through his investment vehicle Lumina Crown, he has bought a 14% stake in Italian tyre maker Pirelli from China's Sinochem. The deal was worth around 987 million euros, or roughly 24 billion crowns.

As a result of the deal, Sinochem's stake in Pirelli has fallen from 34.1% to 20.1%, dropping it to second place among the company's shareholders. Strnad, with his 14%, immediately became the third-largest shareholder in the Italian group, Reuters reports.

The shares were sold at 6.50 euros apiece. Lumina Crown offered only a terse comment, saying the deal was a long-term investment, without disclosing further plans.

For Strnad, the main owner of defence-industrial holding Czechoslovak Group (CSG), this is not his first foray into the car market. Last year he already acquired the official dealer of Ferrari and Maserati in Czechia.

The deal also draws a line under years of tension between Pirelli's largest shareholders. The Italian government has twice — in 2023 and again this year — invoked so-called "golden powers" to protect the country's strategic assets, limiting Sinochem's influence over the company. The Chinese group now has only three representatives on the 15-seat board and cannot hold key posts, including chairman and CEO.

Pirelli's new largest shareholder is Camfin, owned by the group's executive chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera, with a 26% stake.