Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s bid to take control of Royal Mail is taking a step forwards today. Křetínský’s investment group has published the formal offer for International Distribution Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent company, online this morning, and send it by post. This means investors, including an estimated 100,000+ former and current Royal Mail staff, must decide whether to accept Křetínský’s £3.57bn takeover offer. Staff were given shares, totalling 10% of the company, when Royal Mail floated on the stock market a decade ago. Some will have sold since, but staff still hold around 5.5% of its equity (Křetínský is already the largest shareholder, with 27.5%). Křetínský is offering to pay 360p a share for Royal Mail; a premium on the 220p-ish levels they traded at in April, before he made his first approach. Royal Mail shares closed at 315p last night, a sign that the City isn’t certain that Křetínský will succeed in his bid.He does have the support of IDS’s board, which agreed to various terms and conditions pegged to Křetínský’s latest offer a month ago. But, the deal will also be reviewed under the UK’s National Security and Investment Act. Earlier this month, business secretary Kemi Badenoch was pressed to question Křetínský on his business links, after the Guardian raised questions about a series of controversial global property deals connected to the Czech billionaire’s longtime business partners. Meanwhile, Deliveroo has become the latest UK company to catch the eye of an overseas suitor. According to Reuters, US meal delivery group Doordash flagged an interest in a takeover of Deliveroo last month. San Francisco-based Doordash approached Deliveroo, but talks are set to have floundered over a disagreement on valuation. There are no talks ongoing, one person close to the issue says. After booming in the pandemic, food delivery apps are now facing a tougher macroeconomic environment as the cost of living squeeze has hit customers. The Financial Times calculated a month ago that online food delivery groups in Europe and the US have racked up more than $20bn (£15.7bn) in combined operating losses since they floated on stock markets in recent years. That includes operating losses of $777m for Deliveroo since 2021 when it listed in London. Investors have not been terribly impressed. Deliveroo floated at 390p per share in April 2021, but was dubbed "Flopperoo" after tumbling 26% on its first day. By October 2022 they had sunk to 73p, but have rallied back to around 127p last night. That values Deliveroo at just over £2bn, notably lower than its £7.6bn value when it floated.In March, Deliveroo forecast it would grow its sales (gross transaction value) by 5-9%, and achieve positive free cash flow this year; DoorDash, which is worth $45bn, may have seen a profitable opportunity in the UK.
The agenda • 9am BST: Swiss economic sentiment index • 11am BST: CBI distributive trades survey of UK retailers • 3pm BST: US new home sales We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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