Proactive Investors – Royal Mail (LON:) owner International Distribution Services PLC (LSE:IDS) could get government approval for its £3.6 billion takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky next month, according to a report from the BBC.
Kretinsky’s EP Group is thought to have offered to increase the duration of its guarantees to maintain the universal service obligation six days per week and parcels Monday to Friday, keep the company in the UK for at least five years and protect the pension surplus.
Representatives of the billionaire, known as the ‘Czech sphinx’, have also met counterparts from the company’s main trade union, the Communication Workers Union (CWU), who said meetings have been “honest and constructive and are set to continue in the coming days.”
The deal, which has been recommended by the IDS board, will still need to be approved by shareholders and under the National Security and Investment Act, though Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the House of Commons this week that Kretinsky’s alleged links to Russia have been reviewed and dismissed after he built up a 27% stake in IDS last year.
