Michal Strnad, a 33-year-old Czech tycoon, rose into the upper ranks of eastern Europe's wealthy elite after a successful public listing of his defense group this year. He is now investing part of those proceeds in a 14% stake in Italian tire maker Pirelli SpA, one of the country's marquee industrial names.
The deal gives Pirelli some relief from political concerns over having a China-linked shareholder, and it fits Strnad's plan to create an investment operation spanning Europe and the United States.
Strnad therefore becomes Pirelli's third-biggest owner, sharply reducing the Chinese state-owned group's sway over a famous Italian industrial name.
Strnad built much of his wealth after his father handed him control of CSG NV, also called Czechoslovak Group, in 2018. Back then, the firm was beginning to outgrow its legacy of refurbishing Soviet-era military equipment.
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Several years later, Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces were burning through artillery shells faster than European factories could initially produce, and governments across the continent tried to replenish their thinning arsenals. CSG sent supplies to Kyiv and took part in a Czech-organized push to buy artillery ammunition worldwide.
CSG also kept expanding, buying 70% of Italy's Fiocchi Munizioni in 2022 and later acquiring the remaining shares of the ammunition maker. In 2024, it received the go-ahead to buy the Kinetic Group, a US ammunition company whose brands include Federal and Remington.
Those deals expanded CSG's footprint from Europe into the US. They also prepared the way for Strnad - valued at $20.1 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - to complete a record-breaking IPO of a defense-only business in January.
The Pirelli purchase is a sign of how Europe's defense boom has created new financial firepower for owners such as Strnad, who is now branching beyond arms and ammunition into civilian industrial assets.
Lumina Crown, the vehicle buying the Pirelli stake, is separate from CSG. That allows CSG to remain dedicated to Europe's defense buildup while Strnad's personal vehicle builds a civilian-focused portfolio.
Strnad pulled some of his own money from the Amsterdam listing into a private investment firm meant to operate separately from CSG. "I had already had some money there long before the IPO, but the IPO boosted it quite significantly," he told Bloomberg in May.
"I want it to be diversified. I want it to be in promising, growing sectors," he told Bloomberg, describing his investment goals.
Strnad has already shifted personal holdings into the vehicle, among them part-ownership of the Four Seasons hotel in Prague, a fertility clinic, and Ferrari and Maserati dealerships in the Czech Republic.
Strnad said he was "no longer doing all of this for money," while adding that any acquisition must make commercial sense over the long run.
"I cannot eat two dinners. I cannot eat three dinners, either," he said. "As one of my colleagues says, they do not make golden hamburgers."
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