Royal Mail boss to get £5m from sale of UK postal service to Czech billionaire

The boss of Royal Mail owner could raise more than £5m from selling the postal service to the ‘Czech Sphinx’.

Martin Seidenberg, CEO of International Distribution Services (IDS), will receive a payment for his participation in the company.

The figures were revealed in a formal offer document as IDS and billionaire Daniel Kretinsky press ahead with a controversial £3.6bn takeover.

The documents also showed that bankers, lawyers and other advisers will take home £146 million in fees for working on the deal.

German businessman Seidenberg took the reins at IDS last year after heading the company’s European parcel division, GLS.

Part of his potential payout is related to IDS’s long-term incentive plan and deferred stock.

A maximum payment of up to £5.4m is dependent on the acquisition being completed and Seidenberg meeting performance targets.

Details of the potential payment emerged as Kretinsky said yesterday he will consider a profit-sharing agreement with Royal Mail workers after the deal.

The offering document said the billionaire is “exploring, upon completion of the acquisition, to potentially offer a form of employee engagement model in the business for all employees.”

He said this could involve a “profit-sharing mechanism”, but added: “No decision has been made regarding the terms or implementation schedule of such an incentive scheme.”

Union bosses said the proposals do not go far enough.

They have been pushing for a collective employee trust to be created to give them a say in how the business is run and a share of the profits. It would also reduce the risk of strikes and industrial action.

A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union said: ‘We are looking for a significant stake in the company, but also a serious voice in its management.

‘We are not interested in benefit payments that are at the mercy of a board of directors; we want the influence of workers at all levels.

“Not just the board of directors, but also the compensation committee and the hiring committees, to make sure we don’t hire people who don’t have the best interests of postal workers at heart.”

The couriers received a stake when the coalition government privatized Royal Mail in 2013. Many of them have since sold their shares, but employees still own around 5.5 per cent of the business, which would be valued at £200m according to the current terms of the agreement. the deal.

In its general election manifesto, Labor pledged to “vigorously scrutinize” the deal and give officials a “stronger voice.”

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has called for strict protection guarantees for vital postal services.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said getting unions on board “could bolster political support” amid a growing backlash against the deal.

He added: “Regulatory approval could be a difficult hurdle, given the importance of Royal Mail to the UK economy.”

In an article published in The Mail on Sunday earlier this month, CWU boss Dave Ward called for “a new ownership and governance model for Royal Mail”.

He added: “Our plan will regain the trust of the public and UK businesses and win the support of tens of thousands of postal workers who have been demoralized by the company’s leadership by giving them a significant stake in their businesses.”