West Ham United shareholder Daniel Kretinsky in talks over 'shock' bid to takeover Royal Mail

West Ham shareholder Daniel Kretinsky is in talks about a "shock" takeover of Royal Mail, according to The Standard.

The newspaper reported on its website on Wednesday (17 April) that the Czech billionaire has confirmed an approach has been made to buy the British company's owner, the International Distributions Services.

The EP Group, which is the 48-year-old's holding company, said in a statement that it has “submitted a non-binding indicative proposal to the Board of IDS seeking its recommendation for a possible cash offer", but the the proposal has initially been rejected as talks are continuing between the two parties.

West Ham shareholder Daniel Kretinsky increasing British stake

It looks as though Kretinsky is taking some major steps to try and increase his stake in British companies following the latest update.

The Standard revealed that shares in IDS, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has rocketed by 18 per cent to take its value up to £2.4billion.

The Czech is already its biggest shareholder through the 27.5 per cent stake his company Vesa Equity Investment holds in the firm.

The billionaire became the second-largest shareholder in the Hammers when he bought a 27 per cent stake in November 2021, while also securing an option to buy the club outright further down the line.

It will be interesting to see whether his latest attempt to increase his stake in the UK market leads to him completing a takeover at the London Stadium in the future.

In other West Ham news, Kieran Maguire has shared a £3million expense the Hammers can offset against FFP. 

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