Penta closes in on deal for Florenc bus station

Penta has asked for permission from the Czech anti-monopoly office to buy ČSAD Praha Holding, the company that developed the Bastion office building next to the Florenc bus station in downtown Prague. Penta Real Estate tried hard to buy Bastion even as it was preparing the Masaryčka back in 2016, but ultimately failed. However, ČSAD Praha Holding continues to own the outdated bus station, which sits on valuable land that straddles Prague 1 and Prague 8. Penta Real Estate already has enormous ambitions for the area, having developed the Millennium building across the street from Masaryčka. But what’s more interesting about the deal with ČSAD is how it brings into focus the company’s strategy of targeting transportation hubs. Penta co-founder Marek Dospiva gave an interview to e15 recently where he outlined preliminary discussions with Czech Railways to transform and build on top of Prague’s Main Train Station. In Bratislava, Penta built the Nivy shopping center on top of that city’s brand-new bus station.