Business secretary quizzes Royal Mail owner on Kretinsky bid

The prospect of government opposition to a proposed £3.5 billion acquisition of the Royal Mail’s parent company has receded after the business secretary welcomed contractual undertakings being negotiated as part of a Czech tycoon’s takeover.

In a potentially politically significant moment for the deal, on Thursday Kemi Badenoch met Martin Seidenberg, the chief executive of International Distributions Services, Royal Mail’s parent company, after Wednesday’s 370p-per-share “non-binding” proposal from EP Group, a conglomerate controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, a billionaire investor.

At the meeting, which had been scheduled before IDS received the improved proposal, Badenoch emphasised the importance of Royal Mail in British society and the government’s priority to maintain that position.

However, she also welcomed the headline details of the contractual undertakings agreed between IDS and