An economic crisis creates distress for most companies – with the exception of corporate raiders, who flourish in times of misery. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us,” says Jaroslav Hascak, a partner in Penta Investments, one of two leading financial groups of Slovak origin.
However, as Penta has grown, relying on a war chest of €500m at the beginning of this year to fund acquisitions at a time when banks are wary of lending, its longtime rival is divesting itself of assets and restructuring, having overstretched itself during the boom,.
