Royal Mail owner backs £3.5bn takeover offer by Czech billionaire

New Křetínský bid creates headache for UK government amid growing scrutiny on foreign takeovers of critical infrastructure

The owner of Royal Mail has accepted a £3.5bn bid for the postal company from a Czech billionaire after he ramped up the value of the takeover, creating a political headache for the government.

Last month, Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), rejected a preliminary offer worth 320p a share, or £3.1bn, from Daniel Křetínský, an energy tycoon whose company, EP Group, is its largest shareholder.