Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch will meet ‘Czech Sphinx’ Daniel Kretinsky as he presses on with his £3.6bn swoop for Royal Mail. Badenoch is to hold talks with the tycoon who is on the verge of becoming the first foreign owner of the 500-year-old firm. Business secretary Kemi BadenochRoyal Mail’s parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) accepted an offer from the billionaire’s investment firm EP Group last month after he made a series of commitments, which include promises on jobs and the UK-wide six-day service. He has also agreed not to split up Royal Mail’s parent company IDS, which includes European parcels business GLS, for at least three years and to maintain the universal service obligation (USO) and the Royal Mail headquarters in the UK for five years. Last week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that regulators should look ‘very carefully’ at the five-year undertakings made by the billionaire.

Source: Daily Mail June 07, 2024 13:21 UTC