Team Blitz India
LONDON: The board of the company that owns Royal Mail has agreed to a formal takeover offer for the 500-year-old organization by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has firmed up an offer of £ 5 billion. This includes assumed debts, for the company which employs more than 150,000 people.
The entrepreneur said he had the “utmost respect” for its history and tradition. The offer includes commitments to retain the name, brand, UK headquarters and UK tax residency, as well as protections for employee benefits and pensions.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who has yet to meet Kretinsky, has the power under the National Security and Investment Act to scrutinise and potentially block the deal. Markets seem to think there is a chance the deal will be blocked by the current or any future government as the shares in Royal Mail’s parent company are trading at a discount to the 370p a share being offered by Kretinsky.
However, others point to the fact that the government did not intervene at a time it could have done in 2022 when the entrepreneur raised his stake from 22% to the 27.5% of shares he already owns.
Security scrutiny
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said that any takeover bid for Britain’s Royal Mail would be subject to “normal” national security scrutiny but it would not be opposed in principle. Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds wrote to Mr. Kretinsky two weeks ago to stress the historic and crucial role that Royal Mail played in the life and economy of the UK, spelling out undertakings that Mr Kretinsky’s offer should entail.
