Royal Mail investor hits out at ‘raider’ Kretinsky over £3bn takeover

For most people, work is the last thing on their minds as they stretch on a sun lounger after jetting off on holiday — but not Daniel Kretinsky. On April 9, the holidaying “Czech Sphinx” picked up his phone, dialled Keith Williams, and lobbed in a £3.1 billion bid for a 500-year-old British institution.

Williams, chairman of International Distributions Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent, was also away, enjoying some sunshine in Sicily, but Kretinsky is not the kind of guy you fob off: holiday or not. The two men had been in regular dialogue by virtue of the Czech owning a 27.5 per cent stake in the company. As they swapped pleasantries, Williams quickly realised that this was going to be an altogether different conversation: