MR Petr Kellner, the owner and founder of investment fund PPF, the owner of Škoda Transportation, died in a helicopter accident near Anchorage, Alaska, on March 28.
Kellner, 56, was one of five people to die in the crash during a heli-skiing trip. There is one survivor who is in hospital. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
PPF is reported to have global assets worth around €44bn and acquired Skoda Transportation in November 2017. PPF currently holds 87.8% of Škoda Transportation after selling a 10% stake to an entity controlled by Mr Michal Korecky, one of the nine previous co-owners of the company, in 2019.
Kellner was the Czech Republic’s richest person with an estimated $US 17.5bn fortune.
Škoda expanded into the Scandinavian market with the purchase of 75% of Transtech, Finland, in 2015, acquiring the remaining 25% in 2018. The company is in negotiations with Alstom over the acquisition of the French manufacturer’s Reichshoffen facility and related Coradia Polyvalent multiple unit platform.
