Strnad Sr. plans to invest up to half of his companies in the fund. He initially aims to raise €100 million

Businessman Jaroslav Strnad, founder of the Czechoslovak Group and now owner of the CE Industries holding company and Helicopter Alliance, is set to venture into the world of investment for the first time at the start of the summer. In several stages, he plans to gradually place part of his companies into a new investment fund.
To start with, one hundred million euros. That is the plan for the initial phase of the investment fund, provisionally named the CE Industries & Aerospace Fund. The aim is to connect Strnad’s businesses with investors and raise further capital for growth and acquisitions. However, Strnad’s strategy looks much further ahead and anticipates the gradual expansion of the fund. The planned structure will be set up so that Jaroslav Strnad holds a majority stake through the fund, thereby remaining the main driving force behind the entire investment vision.

Stepping out as an investor for the first time

“This is my first time doing this. However, I’ve been thinking about setting up the fund for quite some time, partly because we’re sensing growing interest from investors in our companies. But it’s not just about raising capital; the aim is to create a long-term investment platform where we stand on the same side as the investors,” says businessman Jaroslav Strnad. 
The consolidated turnover of the CE Industries and Helicopter Alliance groups for 2025 reached 19.5 billion crowns, with EBITDA exceeding 1.7 billion. The money Strnad manages to raise should go, for example, towards expanding the helicopter fleet within Helicopter Alliance or towards the acquisition of other companies to expand or strengthen the CE Industries industrial group.
A man with a reputation as a tough negotiator, he played a significant role, for example, in the rescue of the Tatra car manufacturer and its factory in Kopřivnice. He handed over the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) to his son Michal in 2018 and focused on business in industry, technology and aviation. He
now sees this as the ideal moment to transfer part of his activities into an investment structure. “We have a robust industrial base, but also a clear vision of the way forward, of opportunities for organic growth and acquisitions in segments we know well,” Strnad explains his strategic plans. 
Whilst the holding company has so far financed its growth exclusively from corporate profits or through bank loans, it is now, for the first time, targeting funds from private investors in the Czech Republic and Europe. “We have been growing
quite significantly over the last two years, by as much as forty per cent a year in some segments,” said Jaroslav Strnad. “Our aim now is to enable qualified investors to participate in the further development of industrial enterprises and technology projects built around the CE Industries and Helicopter Alliance groups, and to collaborate with them on a long-term basis.”