Restructure the Org Chart Every Expansion Cycle

“For his expansion plans in the East and also due to an economic downturn during this time, which was one of the reasons for stepping abroad, Haselsteiner transformed his Ilbau Group from late 1986 from a difficult-to-manage conglomerate of individual companies and their various subsidiaries into a real corporation with streamlined structures and short decision-making paths: The parent company Bauindustrie Holding AG (BIHAG) was established, later simply called Bau Holding. Beneath Bau Holding were Ilbau GmbH, Negrelli Bau AG, and Asphalt & Beton GmbH. Each of these three subsidiaries, in turn, had several regional subsidiaries. With an annual turnover equivalent to just under 440 million euros and 5,000 employees, Bau Holding was the second-largest construction group in Austria at the time of its founding. With fresh capital from Girozentrale, in 1987, Haselsteiner ventured into Hungary, two years before the fall of the Iron Curtain: “We Austrians felt responsible for what used to be the monarchy.” With this move, he was ahead of leading domestic companies from other industries such as the car dealership Porsche Holding (Porsche Austria) or Red Bull, which only expanded their businesses to Hungary after the end of Communism.”

“The takeover of Strabag was entirely financed from the cash flow of Bau Holding. Haselsteiner then wanted to recoup the money through an IPO of Ilbau, which was supposed to take place within a year. To achieve this, he planned a restructuring of the group: Bau Holding was to be at the forefront. Below it, there should be three equivalent companies: the German Strabag, the Austrian Strabag, and Ilbau. According to the “Bau Holding 2000 Eurofit” plan, both the Bau Holding and the three subsidiaries were to be listed on the stock exchange. However, after skeptical opinions from major investment banks, Haselsteiner had to revise this plan: In the year 2000, only Bau Holding was to be listed on the stock exchange.”