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Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is poised to become the next owner of Royal Mail after he today unveiled a sweetened £3.5billion offer from his company.
Known as the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his inscrutable manner, the 48-year-old already has substantial investments in the UK, including a 27 per cent stake in West Ham and a 10 per cent of supermarket giant Sainsbury’s worth £565million.
While his attempt to take over a 500-year-old national institution has provoked controversy, Kretinsky is already Royal Mail’s largest shareholder and its parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), is ‘minded’ to accept his bid.
The tycoon began life as a lawyer before building a global empire spanning energy, media, telecoms and football – gaining him an estimated fortune of $7billion (£5.6bn).
He has a reputation as an anglophile and is said to be ‘obsessed’ with British history. In 2015, he bought 15-bedroom Heath Hall in Hampstead for £65million, and once rented out to Justin Bieber for £27,000 a week during a British tour.
While he guards his privacy jealousy, Kretinsky is known to be dating 27-year-old showjumper Anna Kellnerova.
The tycoon began life as a lawyer before building a global empire spanning energy, media, telecoms and football – gaining him an estimated fortune of $7billion (£5.6bn)
‘Czech Sphinx’ Daniel Kretinsky, 48, (middle) with his girlfriend, 27-year-old showjumper Anna Kellnerova. They are seen together at a Sparta Prague game
Kretinsky owns a 27 per cent stake in West Ham. He is seen celebrating after the team won their UEFA Europa Conference League final football match against Fiorentina in June 2023
Anna Kellnerova is an accomplished showjumper – but she went to university at the same time as Kretinsky’s son, highlighting their age difference (she is pictured in 2018)
Kellnerova is the daughter of Petr Kellner, the Czech Republic’s former richest man who died in a helicopter crash in 2021.
In a reflection of their age difference – Kellnerova attended university in Prague at the same time as her boyfriend’s son.
The majority of Kretinsky’s wealth derives from his control of energy giant EPH, which has power plants in Devon, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and Northumberland.
A sports fan, he has been chairman of his boyhood club, 37-time Czech champions Sparta Prague, since 2004.
He holds a stake in the French edition of Elle and previously owned part of Le Monde. The billionaire has also explored a bid for the Telegraph.
Kretinsky’s attempts to buy Royal Mail have already attracted the attention of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who said there were lessons to be learned from the crisis at Thames Water.
Asked about a foreign takeover of Royal Mail owner IDS, he said: ‘Do I look at what’s happened to some of the water companies and say that we shouldn’t learn any lessons? Absolutely not.
In response, Kretinsky’s EP Group have sought to offer reassurances, including committing to Royal Mail’s plans to keep six-day-a-week first class letter deliveries under the universal service, protect workers’ rights and keep the Royal Mail brand, as well as its UK headquarters and tax residence.
In 2015, he bought 15-bedroom Heath Hall in Hampstead for £65million, and once rented out to Justin Bieber for £27,000 a week during a British tour
Kretinsky – seen at a conference in Prague last year – is known as the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his inscrutable manner
Kellnerova competing in a showjumping qualifying event in Tokyo, Japan in August 2021
Mr Kretinsky now has until 5pm on May 29 to make a firm offer after the City Takeover Panel agreed to extend the so-called ‘put up or shut up’ deadline
EP Group would also continue the one-price-goes-anywhere service for letters posted inside the UK, it said.
Mr Kretinsky now has until 5pm on May 29 to make a firm offer after the City Takeover Panel agreed to extend the so-called ‘put up or shut up’ deadline, which was originally set for5pm on Wednesday May 15.
Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has written to Kretinsky calling for safeguards to be put in place to protect Royal Mail and ensure it is not operated overseas.
Mr Reynolds wrote: ‘Royal Mail is as British as it gets, and Labour will take the necessary steps to safeguard its undeniable identity and place in public life.’
Kretinsky’s investment in IDS has long been a source of controversy, coming under government scrutiny in 2022 amid national security worries after he built up his shareholding.
In the end, the then business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, did not intervene following a review of the stake.
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