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The sale of Royal Mail’s proprietor to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has been accredited by the UK Authorities.
The deal, price £3.6 billion, will see the businessman’s firm, EP Group, acquire management of the 500-year outdated postal service.
Enterprise Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed the Authorities had secured a raft of legally binding commitments with Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group over the postal service, together with defending the one-price-goes-anywhere supply dedication and a pledge to maintain Royal Mail headquartered within the UK.
Mr Kretinsky and Worldwide Distribution Companies agreed to a deal price £3.6 billion – or £5.3 billion together with debt – in Might however had been ready for approval from the Authorities, which should sanction the takeover given the nationwide significance of Royal Mail and the postal service within the UK.
Mr Kretinsky – nicknamed the Czech sphinx – has since made a number of additional concessions to realize approval, together with giving the Authorities a “golden share” within the postal service, which means it might want to approve any key modifications to Royal Mail’s possession, headquarters location and tax residency.
Right here, we take a look at who Mr Kretinsky is and what the brand new possession might imply for the historic British firm.
The 49-year-old, often known as the “Czech sphinx” reportedly due to his quiet, inscrutable type, constructed his profession as an entrepreneur and lawyer.
He has a internet price of £6 billion, in response to the Sunday Instances Wealthy Checklist, which climbed by £2 billion over the course of a yr.
He constructed his fortune in the vitality trade, and has belongings spanning the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands and the UK.
They embrace Eustream, which strikes Russian gasoline through pipelines operating via Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Mr Kretinsky already owned a 27% shareholder in Royal Mail’s dad or mum firm, Worldwide Distribution Companies (IDS) via his firm EP Group.
The corporate has beforehand highlighted its expertise in proudly owning nationwide infrastructure, and mentioned it views IDS as a “sturdy enterprise with stable foundations and the potential to grow to be one of many main postal logistics teams in Europe”.
Mr Kretinsky and IDS agreed a deal price £3.6 billion – or £5.3 billion together with debt – in Might, however had been ready for the UK Authorities to offer it the go-ahead.
Mr Kretinsky is understood for having vital pursuits in soccer via the possession of a number of golf equipment, together with his boyhood membership Sparta Prague, in addition to a 27% stake in West Ham United.
He has additionally constructed up holdings in a number of well-known British manufacturers, together with a ten% stake in grocery store large Sainsbury’s and sportswear retailer Footlocker.
Mr Kretinsky has a 25% stake in an unique personal island resort in the Maldives, referred to as Velaa.
And he owns one in all Britain’s costliest houses, the 15-bedroom Heath Corridor mansion in Hampstead, which he purchased for £65 million in 2015 and reportedly as soon as rented out to Justin Bieber throughout a UK tour.
The takeover method attracted vital scrutiny this yr, and wanted to be sanctioned by the Authorities given the nationwide significance of Royal Mail and the postal service within the UK.
Mr Kretinsky has indicated that he needs to modernise Royal Mail, together with investing in companies like parcel lockers to compete with giants like Amazon, Evri and InPost.
EP Group has additionally beforehand backed IDS’s ambitions to reform the common service obligation (USO) which it argued has held again Royal Mail’s transformation and made it tougher for it to maintain up with quickly rising competitors within the parcels market.
However, the agency made a collection to commitments to guard Royal Mail, regarding its postal service obligations and UK identification, as a part of the settlement with the Authorities.
The Authorities will even have to approve any key modifications to the supply agency’s possession, headquarters location and tax residency.
