Czech billionaire weighs up new takeover offer for Royal Mail owner after secret bid is rejected
BILLIONAIRE Daniel Kretinsky is weighing up making a new takeover offer for Royal Mail’s owner after his secret bid was rejected.
The Czech, who already owns a 27.5 per cent stake in the postal firm’s listed parent International Distribution Services, today said he made a cash offer on April 9.
His investment firm, EP Group, said it is now considering “all its options” and “looks forward to continuing to engage constructively with the board”.
Owning anything above a 30 per cent threshold would trigger a formal takeover bid.
Shares in IDS closed at 276p today — up 61.08p, or 28.85 per cent — after the news.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “In true fashion, it has taken eight days to deliver the message Royal Mail’s owner has received a takeover approach.
“Shareholders will be peeved at this second-class service, as it’s in their interests to know someone is offering to put money on the table for their shares.”
Analysts do not believe this is the end of Kretinsky’s interest. He now has a deadline of May 15 to come back with a new bid.
The tycoon used a fortune he made from energy investments to go on a British spending spree.
He owns a 27 per cent stake in football club West Ham and a 10 per cent stake in Sainsbury’s.
Kretinsky has pounced on IDS as its share price has drifted.
It lost £1billion last year on the back of a wave of rolling strikes by postal workers.
JUST EAT IN FLURRY OF CURRY
RISING sales for Just Eat show Brits are still hungry for takeaways despite the cost-of-living crisis.
It posted an 11 per cent increase in sales in the UK and Ireland, helped by restaurants hiking their menu prices.
Indian grub was still the top choice, followed by Italian and American — but the fastest-growing cuisines were Polish, followed by Korean and Greek.
Its order volumes in the UK also rose, with 60.3million orders in the first three months of the year, compared with 59.9million last year.
It has also been boosted by tie-ups with grocers, meaning its top-selling items are now milk, bananas and eggs.
But Just Eat’s overall sales fell by 2 per cent to £5.5billion as it was hit by sales slumps in Southern Europe and Australia and New Zealand.
It is still exploring a sale of US business GrubHub, which it bought for £5.8billion in 2020 during the height of the online ordering boom in lockdowns.
SHARES
BARCLAYS up 1.46 to 179.94
BP up 1.20 to 516.80
CENTRICA up 0.40 to 131.35
HSBC up 4.40 to 636.10
LLOYDS up 0.72 to 50.42
M&S up 1.10 to 248.10
NATWEST up 3.60 to 272.40
ROYAL MAIL up 61.80 to 276.00
SAINSBURY’S up 2.60 to 259.60
SHELL up 11.50 to 2,846.00
TESCO up 1.40 to 282.20
BET FIRM IS LOSING
THE owner of Ladbrokes has posted a slide in sales as new gambling regulations take hold.
Entain, which also runs Coral, recorded a seven per cent drop in total UK revenue for the first quarter of the year.
But the group’s US business, BetMGM, cushioned the blow with a six per cent rise in revenues, helped by a boost from the Super Bowl.
Entain is still waiting for the arrival of a permanent chief executive after Jette Nygaard Andersen quit in December.
MUSK PAY VOTE
ELON Musk is trying again to bag a $56billion (£45billion) pay package at Tesla.
It was blocked by a US court earlier this year. But the electric car-maker is taking the package back to a shareholder vote in June.
Musk is ranked the world’s third richest person but his fortune has dropped by around £32billion this year.
This week Tesla announced 14,000 job cuts as Musk said he wants it “lean and hungry”.
ASOS IS JET A PORTER
ASOS has started importing its clothes by plane so its fast fashion designs are not slowed down by disruptions in the Red Sea.
The online retailer said some stock had been delayed because container ships were having to take longer routes to avoid Houthi rebels attacking vessels.
As a result, it has started flying over some stock from Asia instead, which is a lot more expensive and less environmentally friendly.
The disclosure came as Asos reported losses had widened to £120million in the past six months from £87.4million the previous year.
Sales also slumped by 18 per cent to £1.5billion as shoppers cut back.
BANK ECONOMY
METRO Bank will not pay bosses bonuses this year, it said today, following a rollercoaster 12 months.
Bank boss Daniel Frumkin received £834,000 in his pay packet, a 35 per cent fall.
The lender said: “A zero bonus payout was considered appropriate for the executive population.”
It came after the challenger bank cut 1,000 jobs to save costs and struck a £925million autumn rescue deal with a Colombian tycoon.