West Ham part-owner Daniel Křetínský in shock bid for Royal Mail parent International Distribution Services

Shares in the Royal Mail’s owner, the International Distributions Services, (IDS) rocketed 18% valuing it at £2.4 billion after Daniel Křetínský, known as the Czech Sphinx, confirmed the approach. The former investment bank lawyer’s holding company EP Group said in a shock statement that it has “submitted a non-binding indicative proposal to the Board of IDS seeking its recommendation for a possible cash offer.” Although the proposal was initially rejected by the board of IDS, talks are continuing.