Škoda Auto Acquisition by Volkswagen AG
1991
$620M
Why
Volkswagen AG acquired an initial 30% equity stake in state-owned Czechoslovak automaker Automobilové závody, národní podnik (AZNP Škoda), subsequently expanding to 100% full ownership by 2000.
Impact
The most successful post-communist industrial privatization in European history: transformed Škoda from a technologically obsolete, ridiculed regional carmaker into a world-class automotive powerhouse producing over 1 million cars annually.
Outcome
Transformed Škoda into the most profitable volume brand in the Volkswagen Group.