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(Alliance News) - The sale of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services PLC to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group could be confirmed in the next two weeks, the BBC reported on Thursday.
According to BBC sources, Kretinsky has agreed to make extra concessions in order to clinch the takeover.
Unions have been meeting with Kretinsky’s advisors this week, and while some sources say they remain "wary" of him, the Communication Workers Union said meetings with the EP Group have been "constructive", the report noted.
The deal will still have to be approved under the National Security and Investment Act although officials carried out a similar review when he increased his stake in the company, the BBC said.
The BBC said Kretinsky is thought to have offered additional safeguards which may include extending the duration of the guarantees he has offered.
These guarantees include maintaining a one-price-goes-anywhere "universal service", which means it has to deliver letters six days per week, Monday to Saturday, and parcels Monday to Friday; not to raid the pension surplus; keeping the brand name and Royal Mail's headquarters and tax residency in the UK for the next five years; and respecting union demands for no compulsory redundancies to take place (until 2025).
Speaking in front of MPs on Tuesday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds referred to him as a "legitimate business figure" whose alleged links to Russia had already been reviewed and dismissed when he became the biggest shareholder in the company.
A spokesperson for the CWU said its meetings so far with the EP Group have been "honest and constructive and are set to continue in the coming days."
In May, IDS agreed to a GBP3.57 billion takeover offer from a special purpose acquisition vehicle owned by J&T Capital Partners as and EP Corporate Group as, a subsidiary of EP Investments SARL.
EP Investments is a Luxembourg-based company founded by Kretinsky, who also serves as its chair.
Under the terms of the offer, shareholders will receive 370 pence for each IDS share.
Shares in International Distributions Services were up 0.7% at 355.31 pence in London on Thursday morning.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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