Penta (investment group)

Penta is a Central Europe investment group founded in 1994 in Slovakia by Czech Marek Dospiva and Slovaks Jaroslav Haščák, Juraj Herko, Martin Kúšik and Jozef Oravkin.

Today, the Group actively develops companies and projects, primarily in healthcare, financial services, retail, manufacturing and real estate. Having grown from a local to international company, Penta operates in more than 10 markets across Europe, providing more than 37,000 jobs through investee companies. In financial year 2015 Penta achieved a consolidated net profit of EUR 200 mln and increased total portfolio assets to EUR 7 bln.

The name Penta is a tribute to the original five founding partners, all schoolmates during their studies in Moscow and Czechoslovakia.

Penta Investments group and its co-owner Jaroslav Haščák have been associated with the Gorilla scandal, a corruption affair that erupted in Slovakia in 2012. The company has been denying the allegations and interpreted the "Gorilla" file as fabricated. In 2012, the Constitutional Court ruled that wiretapping of Slovak secret service was unlawful.

Penta's initial capital originated mostly from the business that the two founding members, Marek Dospiva and Jaroslav Haščák, conducted in China. In 1990, during their studies in Beijing, they founded a small textile importing company consisting only of two accountants and one secretary and began importing Chinese textiles to chain stores in Czechoslovakia. At the end of 1993, Marek Dospiva, Jaroslav Haščák and Jozef Oravkin teamed up with Martin Kúšik and Juraj Herko and founded company Penta Brokers.

In 1996, when the company's net asset value was approximately 50 million Slovak crowns, Penta gained control over VÚB Kupón - the largest investment fund in Slovakia, with an asset value of 9 billion Slovak crowns. Penta convinced the British Regents Fund to purchase a control block of stock of VÚB Kupón with an asset value of 9 billion Slovak crowns. During the transaction, VÚB, the founding bank of the fund, started to resist. The British Regents Fund decided to pull out of the transaction. At this key moment, Penta succeeded in convincing VÚB to sell its share and finance the purchase of stocks bought by the British fund. Penta gained control over VÚB Kupón for a stock price of only 20 percent of its real market value. VÚB Kupón's acquisition opened the way for Penta to earn its first billion.