Union tells Royal Mail bidder to give staff a 'serious stake'

The union representing postal workers has called for them to be handed a serious stake in Royal Mail, after the Czech billionaire bidding to snap up its owner for £3.75bn floated the possibility of implementing an "incentive scheme" if he is successful.

- Alex Lawson , Jack Simpson

Daniel Křetínský's EP Group published an offer document yesterday laying out the details of its bid for Royal Mail's parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS).

It also wrote to 100,000 shareholders, who include current and former staff and who collectively own more than 5% of the company's shares, asking them to sell, in a move that would help pave the way for the takeover.

Last month, the sale of IDS edged closer after its board accepted the £3.57bn offer from EP UK Bidco Limited, a newly formed venture between EP Group and its longstanding partner J&T Capital Partners.

In the offer document, EP UK Bidco said it was "exploring, following completion of the acquisition, potentially offering a form of employee participation model in the business". It said a "profit-sharing mechanism" for employees was under consideration but stopped short of committing to a specific scheme.

It added: "No decision has been made in respect of the terms of, or timing for implementation of, such incentive scheme."