Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky will become the chairman of British parcel and postal firm Royal Mail, his investment firm EP Group said on Friday.
Kretinsky’s EP Group closed its 3.57 billion pounds ($4.90 billion) acquisition of Royal Mail’s parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) earlier this month.
The new owner of one of the world’s oldest postal companies also said on Friday that it had allotted and issued a “golden share” of 1 pound to the British government, which was part of the deal.
The “golden share” ensures Royal Mail retains its headquarters in Britain and would continue to pay UK taxes.
Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 in a massive state selloff at an initial public offering price of 330 pence a share.
Kretinsky was already the biggest shareholder in IDS, the owner of both Royal Mail and international parcels network GLS.
The deal was cleared in December after Britain secured commitments from Kretinsky to protect the more than 500-year-old company and the future of thousands of workers and customers.
($1 = 0.7288 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong）
