Petr Paukner acquired a roughly 10% stake in Sokolovská uhelná and SUAS Group. The exact price of the transaction remains undisclosed, but its value is estimated to be in the higher hundreds of millions of crowns.

Carbounion Holding is currently the only minority owner, the remaining shares are held through its trust fund by the Štěpánek family, descendants of one of the founders of Sokolovská uhelná and the SUAS group, František Štěpánek. Last year, the Štěpánek family took full control of Sokolovská uhelná and SUAS after minority shareholder Jaroslav Rokos, whose 42.86% stake was valued at almost CZK 3 billion, left both companies. This strategic investment is aimed at supporting the future development of Sokolovská uhelná and the SUAS Group in various sectors, including renewable energy, innovation in the chemical industry and housing and industrial construction.

Carbounion was founded in 1998 by Petr Paukner and initially focused on solid fuels, energy consulting and lignite exports from major companies such as Severočeské doly, Mostecká uhelná and Sokolovská uhelná. In 1999, Carbounion expanded its activities to include the trading of hard coal from Russia and became the local agent for BHP for the import of Australian coking coal into Central Europe. In 2001, the company entered the electricity power market, initially focusing on the domestic area and later successfully expanding into the international market.

According to Carbounion's annual report for 2021, the group achieved sales in excess of CZK 8 billion and reported a profit of over CZK 24 million (compared to a profit of CZK 217 million in 2020). The Sokolovské uhelná group of companies reported a profit of nearly CZK 2.3 billion in the previous year, while it recorded a loss of CZK 96 million in 2021.