Polish heir plans new investments

Sebastian Kulczyk, who turns 35 this month, has controlled his family's $4 billion fortune since the death of his father, Jan Kulczyk, during a routine heart operation in July,

a profile in the

Financial Times


noted. He holds the wealth along with his sister, Dominika, but he has operational control, the article said.

Kulczyk owns 3% of SABMiller, which is in talks to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. In 2009, Jan Kulczuk sold his Polish brewing company for $1.1 billion in SABMiller shares. If SABMiller is sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the stake will be worth $3.23 billion, the


FT


article said.

“Lots of people thought it might be too risky for us to have one asset as such a major part of our worth. And I agree,” Kulczyk told the


FT


. “With that cash I would be able to build something unique. Something with international scale.”

Sebastian Kulczyk worked at Lazard in London in 2009 before joining his family's investment firm in 2010. He joined the board of his family firm in 2011 and became CEO in 2014. The firm's holdings are in share gas exploration companies, soda ash producers, motorways and energy distributors, the article said.

He told the


FT


that he would use his proceeds from the SABMiller sale to increase investments in the chemicals, energy and infrastructure industries and to enter the field of technology. He will also likely sell off assets associated with his father.

Last year, Kulczyk bought Ciech, a chemical company, from the Polish government. He plans to expand Ciech into the agriculture, polymer and organic chemical sectors, the


FT


article said

Jan Kulczyk, who was Poland's richest man, was criticized for being too close to Polish politicians, and authorities in Poland are investigating the acquisition of Ciech, the report noted. (Source:


Financial Times


, Nov. 3, 2015.)