Daniel Křetínský will imminently become the next owner of Royal Mail after its parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), accepted a £3.5bn offer.
The Czech billionaire has been given the the green light to buy IDS by ministers.
The deal, which could go through within weeks, would hand ownership of the 500-year-old UK postal and distribution agency to an energy and media mogul from central Europe and means Royal Mail will be taken into foreign ownership for the first time in its 508-year history.
In an announcement to the stock exchange, Mr Kretinsky’s company EP Group said it has given undertakings to the government to maintain the universal service obligation to operate a six-days-a-week first-class “one-price-goes-anywhere” delivery service throughout its period of ownership.
However, the second-class service is likely to be pared back to every other day.
Other undertakings include keeping Royal Mail’s headquarters and tax residency in the UK for at least five years. This pledge will be backed by the issue of a golden share to the British Government.
Mr Kretinsky said: “IDS, and Royal Mail in particular, form part of the national infrastructure of the countries they operate in. More than that, Royal Mail is part of the fabric of UK society and has been for hundreds of years.”
Unions have reportedly met with Mr Křetínský’s advisors ahead of the transition, but reportedly remain “wary” of the incoming owner.
The sale followed a difficult few years for Royal Mail, which recorded substantial financial losses and customer complaints over deliveries.
So who exactly is Royal Mail’s next owner? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Daniel Křetínský?
Mr Křetínský is already the biggest shareholder in IDS, with a 27.5 per cent stake, having first bought shares in the firm in 2020.
The 49-year-old – worth $9n (£7.1bn) according to Forbes and dubbed the 'Czech Sphinx' due to his enigmatic approach to business – first became known to many Londoners when he bought a 27 per cent per cent stake in West Ham in 2021. That investment includes an option to buy the rest of the club.
He has also been chairman of his boyhood club, 37-time Czech champions Sparta Prague, since 2004.
His partner, Olympic showjumper Anna Kellernova, is the daughter of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this year and, at the time of his death, was the country's richest man with an estimated personal wealth of $17.5bn (£13.8bn).
Mr Křetínský started his professional life as a lawyer but has built a titanic empire which covers gas lines, coal-fired power stations, swathes of European media as well as a stake in Sainsbury's. He is reported to be "obsessed" with British history.
His media holdings include the Czech News Center and tabloid Blesk in his home country, as well as the French edition of Elle.
He previously held a 49 per cent stake in French newspaper Le Monde, before selling it in September. Concerns have been raised in the past over Mr Kretinsky's editorial influence over sites such as Info.cz in eastern Europe, though he denies those claims and says he is a “passionate advocate of the freedom of the press”.
Mr Křetínský’s energy company, EPH, owns assets worth around £14bn and employs 25,000 people at 70 companies across Europe.
