Kaprain Group to acquire Synthesia, Mafra and LONDA

Kaprain investment group and Agrofert have agreed on the sale of Synthesia chemical enterprise, Mafra and LONDA. Kaprain will acquire 100% of the equity in these companies subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

“The divestment of these assets will enable us to focus more on our core business segments in the future, to develop them faster and, in particular, to expand more rapidly in our areas and regions of interest. We have chosen an investor who should be a guarantee of further successful development for Synthesia, Mafra and LONDA,” says Zbyněk Průša, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AGROFERT, the second largest fertilizer producer in Europe and the largest agricultural and food group in Central Europe.

“Today we signed our biggest acquisition to date. With the acquisition of Synthesia, we will significantly strengthen our position in the European specialty chemicals market and become one of the most important players in the region,” says Kaprain Group owner Karel Pražák.

One of the pillars of the Kaprain Group is Spolchemie, which is one of the largest resin producers in Europe and has a strong position in the paint segment. Kaprain Group also includes the traditional Slovak chemical company Fortischem. It is the synergy of these companies with Synthesia that will enable further growth and development.

“We will use synergies at all levels. We will significantly strengthen our position on the European specialty chemicals market, complement our product portfolio and take advantage of the intersection between customers and distributors of all these companies,” explains Daniel Tamchyna, Spolchemie’s CEO, and emphasizes: “But we will also use key synergies in applied research, including patents and licenses, which are the main drivers of successful development. Together, we will be able to manage the process of decarbonizing our own corporate energy facilities much more easily and the acquired premises will enable us to build new plants in the field of specialty chemicals.”

All of these chemical companies have a turnover of almost CZK 20 billion, the vast majority of which is exported, and employ almost 3,500 people.

Kaprain Group will become the owner of Synthesia’s Pardubice chemical plants after the transaction is approved by the relevant antitrust authorities.

“Synthesia is an excellently managed company with a successful track record, so we firmly believe in a quick integration into the Kaprain Group,” explains Daniel Tamchyna.

Together with Synthesia, Kaprain is also acquiring the Mafra and LONDA group of companies. The group includes not only media (daily newspapers, online media, radio stations and TV), but also a printing company and TicketPortal, as well as the Impuls radio station operator. With the purchase of Mafra and LONDA, the Kaprain Group enters a completely new segment. Thus, the familiarization process and any subsequent steps will take a little longer than in the case of Synthesia. The Kaprain Group will therefore not comment on further actions in Mafra and LONDA, at least until the relevant antitrust authorities have given their approval.



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Jan Kadaník
Head of Chemicals

I am a graduate of the Prague University of Economics and Business, where I focused on international business and finance.

Until 2007, I was Director of Strategy at Agrofert Group, where I was responsible for domestic and foreign mergers and acquisitions, including the purchase of the German company SKW Piesteritz. Subsequently, I spent more than ten years in Switzerland. As CFO and then CEO, I helped with the development of Ameropa.

This family-owned business is present in more than 40 countries around the world and focuses on trade, logistics and production in the field of agricultural commodities. I took Ameropa through a transformation from a predominantly trading company to a business with a robust base of logistics and manufacturing assets. We have also expanded geographically, including building one of the largest fertilizer distributors in Australia. Since 2020, I have also held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cetin Group.

Mária Mikolajová
Managing director & Board member

I am a graduate of the Prague University of Economics and Business, during my studies I was involved in financial and project management. I have been with Kaprain Group since 2021, currently in the role of Managing Director of the Foundation. I am involved in creating projects and building cooperation with cooperating entities. I value trust, initiative and responsibility. I also see my role in translating these values to all our projects.

František Dombek
Group Chief Investment Officer

I graduated from the Technical University in Ostrava (VŠB) and subsequently earned an MBA from the London International Graduate School.

I have worked in various positions in the banking industry since 1993. Until 2009, I worked at PPF banka, where I was a Director of the Commercial Division and a member of the Board of Directors. After 2009, I worked for PPF Group on independent projects.

I have been with Kaprain since 2015 and am responsible for investment and joint venture management.

Jiří Medřický
Group Chief Financial Officer

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Petr Vosmík
Investment Operations Director

I am a graduate of the International Leadership Institute of the University of North Florida and Nottingham Trent University in Business and Administration.

I started my professional career in the construction industry and subsequently focused mainly on investments and real estate trading. Since 2004, I have held the position of CEO of Českomoravská realitní.

Jan Kolací
Group Chief Operations Officer

I graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the Prague University of Economics and Business and the Banking Institute.

Since 1995, I have held various managerial positions at Investiční a poštovní banka (IPB), then at the Czech Consolidation Agency and PPF group companies. I have been a member of the management of a number of companies, such as the TV Prima holding, the Eden Arena football stadium, the InterContinental Prague hotel, the Panorama hotel and Karlovarský porcelán (Karlovy Vary Porcelain Company). I have been with the Kaprain Group since its establishment in 2013.

Kateřina Říhová
Group Chief Legal Officer

I am a graduate of Charles University and then a one-year study of European Law at the University of Antwerp.

During my more than 15 years of legal practice, I have worked in major international law firms and since 2012 as an attorney. 

I have been using all my legal experience as the head of Kaprain’s legal team since 2017.

Jaromír Štantejský
Managing Director - M&A, Industry & Financial Projects

I graduated from the Prague University of Economics and Business and later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago (GSB).

I started my professional career in the 1990s at Pragobanka, from 1996 I worked in various managerial positions at Česká pojišťovna and later in other PPF Group companies. In 2006, I became CFO and then in 2018 CEO of AB – CREDIT, a company specializing in debt trading.

Over the past decade, I have been significantly involved in the acquisition activities of the Kaprain Group, particularly in the telecommunications and chemical and rubber industries.

Jan Kozler
Managing Director - Development Management

I am a graduate of the Czech Technical University in Prague, authorized engineer for civil engineering.

Since 2000 I worked in IPS, a company which was acquired by Skanska in 2002. There I worked my way up to Factory Manager and was responsible for commercial, residential and technology projects.

With over 16 years of experience in construction and property development, I joined Kaprain in 2017 where I am responsible for the Group’s development activities.

Kateřina Vondrková
Group Chief People Officer

I am a graduate of andragogy and psychology at Palacký University in Olomouc.

I started my professional career at PPF Group. Subsequently, I was the HR Director of the Wikov engineering holding for 8 years, where I was responsible for human resources management in all companies of the group. I have also worked at Skanska, Mladá fronta and Rohlík, where I was responsible for human resources management and business partnering for the company head office and was also responsible for L&D projects and implementation of projects from the parent company.

I have been with the Kaprain Group since 2024.

Marcel Dostal
Group Chief Executive Officer

After studying at Brno University of Technology, I also earned an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York.

Since 1997, I have worked for PPF Group in various managerial positions in the field of investment, for example as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Česká pojišt’ovna and Assistant Manager for Investment Policy and Asset and Liability Management. I subsequently held the same position within Generali PPF Holding, at the time a joint venture between PPF and Italian company Generali. I also served as CEO of Generali PPF Asset Management, the largest asset manager in the Czech Republic, which at the time managed assets worth over CZK 200 billion.

Karel Pražák
Kaprain Group Owner

I am a native of České Budějovice, a graduate of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, a former player of the youth hockey league, a current forward of the district championship of SK Hvozdnice and the founder of the Kaprain investment group.

I founded Kaprain in 2013, after almost 20 years at PPF Group. Since then, together with my colleagues, I have built a strong investment group that today owns assets worth over CZK 40 billion and employs thousands of people across the Czech Republic. 

In my spare time I like hunting and besides hockey and football I live for sports in general.

Jakub Dlouhý
Group Chief Marketing Officer

I am a graduate of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, a lifelong sportsman and optimist who has managed to combine his interests with his professional career.

In 2002 I founded Concept One, an agency specializing in the use of sports in marketing and communication for commercial brands. In 2015, I also founded Kotelna55 agency, as a group of agencies and talented individuals who specialize in different areas of marketing communications.

I was at the birth of the Kaprain brand, which I represent as Group Chief Marketing Officer. I try to apply the strategic approach “Be creative but never underestimate basic logic” in marketing and communication of brands such as POP Airport, HC Sparta Praha and others. At the same time, I manage the Kotelna55 group, which provides marketing and agency services to the Kaprain Group.