Royal Mail takeover delayed by fears of Russian meddling in Romania

Royal Mail’s £3.6bn sale to the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is being held up by a political crisis in Romania caused by claims of Russian meddling.

More than two months after the takeover was waved through by the British Government, Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group is still waiting for approval from officials in Romania.

The delay has emerged in the wake of a cancelled presidential election in Romania last year, which has sparked political gridlock. Romania’s top court intervened to scrap the country’s presidential election following claims of alleged Russian interference.

This has since led to criminal proceedings against Calin Georgescu, the far-Right, pro-Russian candidate who was the unexpected frontrunner in the cancelled election. His campaign has sparked accusation of meddling by Russian foreign intelligence.

Mr Georgescu has heaped praise on Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, and criticised Ukraine, although he has rejected claims of support from Moscow. Another presidential election has now been scheduled for May.

Mr Kretinsky is unable to proceed with his acquisition of Royal Mail until the regulatory bar is cleared in Romania because part of the business operates there.

International Distribution Service, the holding company that owns Royal Mail which Mr Kretinsky is buying, also owns a parcel business, GLS, which operates across Europe and North America. Officials in the US and the rest of Europe have already cleared the deal.

It is understood talks with Romanian officials remain ongoing, and sources said there is no danger of the deal falling apart. Investors are set to be updated shortly.

The standstill risks Royal Mail losing further ground to rivals, such as the fast-growing parcel locker business InPost. Mr Kretinsky is planning to roll out 20,000 UK lockers once his takeover is completed.

Polish-based InPost currently has 9,200 locker locations in Britain, although UK boss Neil Kuschel told The Telegraph last week that he was aiming to hit 25,000 in the coming years.

Mr Kuschel said InPost, which is backed by private equity firm Advent, would continue to make inroads into Britain after unveiling a parcel delivery service last week starting at £1.99 – undercutting Royal Mail’s lowest price of £3.25.

He said: “In Poland, which is our home market, we have got over 80pc of people within a seven-minute walk of a locker. That’s our North Star [here in the UK].

“We want to have well in excess of 25,000 lockers.”

UK ministers approved Royal Mail’s £3.6bn sale to Mr Kretinsky last year, clearing the way for the business to fall into foreign ownership for the first time since it was established by Henry VIII in 1516.

As part of a range of concessions to complete the deal, the tycoon has vowed to maintain Saturday deliveries for first-class letters, protect the Royal Mail brand and keep the company’s headquarters in the UK.

The looming takeover will expand Mr Kretinsky’s empire across Europe. The businessman, who made his fortune in energy, owns a range of companies across Britain, France, Czechia, Poland and Romania.

Royal Mail declined to comment. EP Group, Mr Kretinsky’s company, declined to comment.

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