Czech company DD Rail Properties, controlled by industrial entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad and investment group J&T, plans to acquire a 49.99% stake in Polish port services provider OT Logistics, according to Seznam Zprávy, citing a stock exchange filing by the Polish company. The stake represents around 6.5 million voting shares and would give the Czech investors a blocking minority.
OT Logistics is the largest port services operator in Poland, with core activities in Świnoujście and Gdynia, and an important logistics player in the Baltic Sea region, providing terminal handling and rail-linked freight services. The company has faced weaker volumes in some commodity segments, but its port and rail infrastructure remains strategically positioned for Baltic–Central Europe flows.
Jaroslav Strnad controls CE Industries, an industrial group with strong exposure to rail transport, rolling stock manufacturing and logistics across Central and South-Eastern Europe. Rail activities are a core pillar of the group’s profitability, led by Croatian rolling stock manufacturer Đuro Đaković, one of the main wagon and vehicle producers in the Adriatic region. The group is active in cross-border rail freight, steel logistics and industrial transport chains, positioning it as a long-term rail market player rather than a purely financial investor.
Potential synergies are linked to the Port of Rijeka in Croatia, which Strnad acquired from OT Logistics in 2023. According to OT Logistics, cooperation between Baltic and Adriatic ports could support the development of north–south rail corridors connecting Poland with Central and Southern Europe, improving the competitiveness of rail freight versus road transport.
J&T Private Equity Group, via Auctor Holding, is the co-owner of DD Rail Properties and brings financial backing and experience in infrastructure-related investments. The transaction still requires approval from Poland’s competition authority. A binding share purchase agreement will be signed only after regulatory clearance.
