Related Articles
Royal Mail’s biggest shareholder has increased its stake in the delivery group, despite analysts warning of mounting losses amid a bitter row with staff.
Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire who owns Sparta Prague football club and a stake in West Ham United, increased his stake in International Distributions Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent company, from 23 percent to 24 percent.
The purchase will fuel speculation that Kretinsky, nicknamed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his inscrutable behavior, is considering buying out the group, which has stalled as Royal Mail is plagued by strikes that cost them £200million last year have.
Stake: Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky increased his stake in International Distributions Services, parent company of Royal Mail, from 23% to 24%
Under city rules, an investor must make a takeover bid for a company if its stake reaches or exceeds 30 percent.
But a ouster of Kretinsky is likely to spark fierce political backlash, fueling union resistance over fears for jobs and working conditions.
The company is in negotiations with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents some 115,000 postal workers, to end the dispute, which focuses on pay and changes in work practices and insists they are necessary to compete with competitors to be able to
But there is little sign of a breakthrough after CWU chiefs announced they could call more strikes if no deal is reached this week.
Analysts at JP Morgan predicted the group would have to ‘substantially reduce’ its cost-cutting targets to land a deal and predicted Royal Mail would lose £224m over the next year, £100m more than previous forecasts.
IDS shares fell 4.4 percent, or 10.2 pence, to 220.2 pence.
His troubles have weighed heavily on the stock price, which has fallen almost 40 percent over the past 12 months and presents investors like Kretinsky with an excellent opportunity to increase their stake.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; Swimmer: left; delete both; maximum width: 636px; border: 0; padding: 0; row height: 120%; Font size: 12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding: 0; row height: 120%; text decoration: none; Font family: Arial, Helvetica, sans serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; Swimmer: left; Width: 100%; Background Color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; Text transformation: uppercase; Font size: 18px; font weight: bold; Border: 6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; screen lock; Width: 124 pixels; margin right: 4px; margin top: 5px; background color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; border: 10px 5px; Color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; screen lock; border: 0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; Height: Auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; screen lock; Color:#004db3; font weight: bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; screen lock; Color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; Swimmer: left; Width: 100%; margin top: 5px; background color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block! important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height: automatic; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin below: 5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin below: 5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; Right margin: 1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width: 63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; Font size: 16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
https://www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com/business/will-the-czech-sphinx-launch-a-bid-for-royal-mail/ Will the Czech Sphinx launch a bid for Royal Mail?
Source link
