After the 1989 collapse of the Soviet bloc, he entered a new field of employment, developing office and hotel projects and investing in real estate.

In the 1990s Kovats participated, together with his partner Franz Mock, in several nightclubs (including U4 in Vienna,[5] A2 South Pole in Vösendorf,[6] and Tanzpalast in Baden,[5] Dorian Gray in Korneuburg).

Mostly he bought economically struggling companies with high "turnaround potential" at a reasonable price and aimed within a few years to reorganize and make a profit.

[14] Due to his unconventional business practices and methods of financing and his sometimes spectacular transactions Kovats has repeatedly been accused of risky, unfair or even criminal activity.

The Austrian investigative journalist Hans Pretterebner announced in 2007 that he was writing a book on economic crime in which a chapter is devoted to Kovats's career and especially the aforementioned insolvencies.