Kretinsky poised to make firm offer for Royal Mail owner, source says

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services (IDS) is set to recommend a firm offer by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

An announcement is expected on the fate of the bid for one of the world’s oldest postal companies before a May 29 deadline under UK takeover rules.

Earlier this month Kretinsky’s investment vehicle EP Group improved its bid for the shares he doesn’t own in IDS to 370 pence per share, after an earlier bid of 320 pence was rejected by the London-listed firm. Kretinsky owns 27.6% of the company, according to LSEG data.

The agreed deal is set to come with some commitments for the future of the business, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is private.

IDS and a representative for EP Group declined to comment. The BBC earlier reported that the board of the company that owns Royal Mail was expected to recommend a fresh takeover offer for the organisation on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley. Writing by Anousha Sakoui)

By Amy-Jo Crowley