Havlová sold a majority stake in the Lucerna Palace for one billion to the BTL group

Prague - Dagmar Havlová sold a majority stake in the Lucerna Palace in Prague for almost one billion crowns to the BTL group. The sister-in-law of President Václav Havel retains a 25 percent stake. This was reported today by Forbes based on statements from Havlová and BTL's technical director, Tomáš Drbal. According to Havlová, the money from the sale will be used for the renovation of the building, which has been a national cultural monument since 2017.

The previous sole owner of the Lucerna, according to Forbes, has transferred the Lucerna into a newly created company called Palác PL. In this, BTL Healthcare Technologies now holds a 75 percent stake, whose owner, according to the Register of Actual Owners, is Jan Vild, and the remaining quarter still belongs to Dagmar Havlová, widow of Ivan Havel. "I've known Honza Vild since the revolution," Havlová told Forbes. "There are plenty of billionaires who would swallow Lucerna. For me, it was important to connect with someone who would maintain the tradition, values, and social purpose of the entire place," she added.

Havlová decided to sell her stake in Lucerna due to high costs associated with palace repairs. "Everything will go towards extensive renovations and related repairs; I am not taking any money from the sale," she stated regarding the sale. According to Forbes, the proceeds from the sale will help cover loans for the previous renovation of the air conditioning system and the installation of an elevator for the disabled. Plans for the future include restoring the historic railings on the roof terraces, parts of the palace facing Štěpánská Street, passages, and portals.

"We were created from scratch in the Czech Republic, grew on Czech people, and we believe we have something to give back to the country. Lucerna should serve exactly these people," Drbal from the BTL group told Forbes. According to him, Havlová will continue to manage Lucerna.

Lucerna, located between Vodičková and Štěpánská streets, was built by Václav Havel, the grandfather of the later president Václav Havel and his brother Ivan. Shortly after its establishment, it became a center of cultural and social life in Prague. After 1948, it was nationalized, and in 1992, Václav and Ivan Havel received the palace back in restitution. This was followed by disputes and complications, after which the courts ruled that the entire building belongs to Ivan Havel's wife, Dagmar Havlová.

According to information on its website, BTL was established in 1993 and manufactures medical technology primarily for physiotherapy, cardiology, and aesthetic medicine. It has branches in over 70 countries and employs more than 2,800 people. In last year's ranking of the most valuable Czech companies, compiled by Seznam Zprávy in cooperation with the consulting firm Deloitte, the group placed 24th with an estimated value of 18 billion crowns. The owner of the group, Jan Vild, was a member of the Federal Assembly's House of Nations for the Civic Forum after the Velvet Revolution and later for the Civic Movement.