PRAGUE - Michal Strnad, who a decade ago became head of CSG, a family defence business, is closing in on buying U.S. ammunitions maker Kinetic Group that will transform a company that started by buying tanks for scrap into a key player in the global arms market.
Vista Outdoor has agreed to the CSG bid, which needs clearance from shareholders in May, and approval from Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. "There is big space to improve efficiency and invest into automation, new production lines and machines," said Strnad, who sees the deal giving the Czech company entry into the market for government contracts in the United States and elsewhere.Strnad's father Jaroslav started the business in the 1990s after the Cold War, buying Soviet-era military equipment, initially meant for scrapping.
Core earnings more than doubled in 2023 to 439 million euros and CSG forecast continued strong demand for its heavy military equipment and large-caliber ammunition as countries ramp up defence spending amid the war in Ukraine. He said the company now had a backlog of artillery orders for six years and was investing further into new capacity at its plants in Slovakia, Spain and Serbia.