The AutoWallis Group is further strengthening its position as a major regional vehicle trading company and mobility service provider after successfully closing the buyout of the MILAN KRÁL GROUP, which operates on the Czech automotive market, has substantial shares in a number of segments, is managed by experienced professionals, and uses its own real property. AutoWallis financed the purchase price of the Group with its 5 places of business and a total of 200 employees by using the resources obtained from the issue of 10-year EUR bonds with favorable terms. As a result of this latest transaction, AutoWallis will represent 27 vehicle brands in 16 countries and will continue to strengthen its presence in the country where the vehicle market is more profitable than in Hungary. The number of new vehicles registered in the Czech republic in 2023 exceeded 244 thousand, almost double the Hungarian figure. MILAN KRÁL is AutoWallis’s second acquisition on the Czech retail market: it closed the buyout of Stratos Auto’s three BMW dealerships in July, gaining a presence in Prague and two other Czech cities. The significance of the current acquisition is illustrated by the fact that the 2023 revenue of the MILAN KRÁL GROUP was the equivalent in Czech koruna to HUF 50 billion and its EBITDA was HUF 2.9 billion – it also continually increased its sales in the past 3 years, achieving an EBITDA margin of more than 6% (calculated with Czech rules). (The AutoWallis Group closed 2023 with revenue of HUF 366 billion and an EBITDA of HUF 20 billion.)

The acquisition of the MILAN KRÁL GROUP is well aligned with AutoWallis’s strategic targets updated this spring, under which the Group will, after entering the Czech retail market in the summer of 2024, continue to strengthen its position in the country, diversifying its activities and increasing the revenue generated abroad, which already makes up the majority of the Group’s revenue. An important element of AutoWallis’s retail growth plan is foreign expansion, thus especially growth in the Czech premium segment, which will now be supported by the acquisition recently closed with the both the BMW and now the Mercedes-Benz brand as well. Based on the AutoWallis Group’s updated strategy, AutoWallis’s new vehicle sales may exceed 100 thousand units, its revenue HUF 750 billion, and its EBITDA profits HUF 40 billion in 2028, of which the latter two would constitute a doubling of 2023 results.

Péter Antal, head of the AutoWallis Group Retail & Services Business Unit, explained that a total of 244 thousand new passenger vehicles were placed on the market in the Czech Republic in 2023, which is almost double that of the Hungarian market, and this figure rose to 260 thousand this year. This is a good illustration of how the geographical diversification of the AutoWallis Group portfolio supports the company’s stable growth and continues to strengthen the Group’s major role on the Central and Eastern European car sales and mobility service market.

At its headquarters in Ceské Budejovice, located in the southern Czech Republic, the 30-year-old MILAN KRÁL GROUP deals with the sales and repairs of four brands (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz Truck, Ford), the factory-authorized repairs of Opel vehicles, and its own brand of used vehicles (auto.pro.Tebe), in addition to operating its own body shop and paint facilities. On the one hand, the transaction strengthens AutoWallis’s existing position in the BMW network: its share of the retail market will increase from 13 to 20% in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, the acquisition is adding new brands to its already impressive retail portfolio (taking over a share of more than 6% of the Mercedes-Benz brand on the Czech market), continuing to stabilize its profit generation capabilities through increased diversification. The third strategic element of purchasing the MILAN KRÁL GROUP is having AutoWallis also acquire new activities: thanks to the sales and repairs of the Mercedes-Benz Truck brand, it will now have a presence on the regional country’s truck market. The long-term development of this activity is supported by the 3400 square meter Mercedes-Benz Truck semi-trailer truck sales point and repair shop that is currently under construction and will be opened in 2025 on a 3.1 hectare area. The integration and smooth operation of the acquired group is guaranteed by the continued work of its 200 employees and experienced management, simultaneously to which work has started to identify synergies within the AutoWallis Group.

AutoWallis in the fast lane: the largest buyout in its history leads to the acquisition of a new branch and the launch of a new activity