In This Article:
Royal Mail’s takeover by a Czech billionaire has been given the green light by the Government, allowing the postal service to pass into foreign ownership for the first time.
It is understood that permission for the sale of International Distribution Services (IDS) to Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group is set to be officially announced later on Monday morning after being reviewed by the Government under the National Security and Investment Act.
Mr Kretinsky and IDS agreed a deal in May but have been waiting for approval from the Government, which must sanction the takeover given the national importance of Royal Mail and the postal service in the UK.
There were already a number of pledges made by Mr Kretinsky when the proposed deal was announced, including a vow to keep the brand name and retain Royal Mail’s headquarters and tax residency in the UK for the next five years, as well as commitments to protect the company’s universal service obligations.
But Mr Kretinsky – who is nicknamed the Czech sphinx – is believed to have made several further concessions to gain Government approval, including allowing workers to get a 10% share of any dividends paid to him.
The Government will also reportedly keep a so-called “golden share” in the postal service, meaning it will need to approve any key changes to Royal Mail’s ownership, headquarters location and tax residency.
Other previous commitments from Mr Kretinsky include a guarantee not to raid the pensions surplus and to respect union demands for no compulsory redundancies until 2025.
Unions are understood to have been pushing for further assurances and for the commitment over compulsory redundancies to be extended.
On Friday, Royal Mail was fined £10.5 million by regulator Ofcom for missing its post delivery targets in the 2023-2024 financial year.
The watchdog said just under three-quarters of first class post was delivered on time during the period, well short of its 93% target, and 92.7% of second class post was delivered on time, below its 98.5% target.