Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský has reached an agreement to buy the owner of Royal Mail in a deal valuing the group at £5.2bn, as he pledged to revive the fortunes of the former UK postal monopoly away from the glare of public markets.

Křetínský’s EP Group said on Wednesday it had agreed a takeover price of 370 pence per share for London-listed International Distribution Services, which owns Royal Mail and the international parcel business GLS, setting the path for intense political scrutiny of the proposal during a UK election year.

EP Group and IDS have spent the past few weeks hammering out the details of a deal for the former state-owned postal group, which since privatisation has been beset by strikes and growing competition from the likes of Amazon.

The move to place the 508-year-old postal service under foreign ownership comes with various commitments, including keeping its UK headquarters, recognising the postal workers’ union and maintaining Royal Mail’s obligation to deliver mail everywhere in the UK at the same cost. But these commitments have been made for just five years, with the Labour party and the union already vowing to protect the future of the group.

Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business secretary, said the Labour party, which is expected to win the general election on July 4, would “take the necessary steps to safeguard [Royal Mail’s] undeniable identity and place in public life”, adding that “Labour in government will ensure [EP Group’s commitments] are adhered to”.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “We do welcome some of the commitments that have been made but the reality is postal workers across the UK have lost all faith in the senior management of Royal Mail and the service has been deliberately run down.”

He said the CWU would be “engaging with the Labour party and other stakeholders to call for a new model of ownership for Royal Mail where our members and customers have a direct say in key decisions”, adding that “this situation is a direct result of a failed and ideological privatisation over a decade ago”.

Jeremy Hunt, chancellor, previously said a bid for Royal Mail would be subject to “normal” scrutiny on national security grounds, but added that international investment in British companies was generally welcomed.

Křetínský, a lawyer-turned-energy tycoon, is already the largest shareholder in IDS with a 27.5 per cent stake. His IDS takeover bid marks his latest UK dealmaking spree, after he acquired stakes in supermarket chain J Sainsbury and English Premier League football club West Ham United.

Křetínský said that “IDS’s market is evolving quickly, and it must accelerate its transformation and investments into modernisation to keep up with the competition”.

EP Group’s offer follows years of losses and failures to hit performance targets at Royal Mail, which have seen IDS’s shares drop from more than 550p in 2018 to just 213p before the company’s first bid was announced in April.

While being required to meet Royal Mail’s historic obligation to deliver everywhere in the UK at the same cost, EP Group would face the challenge of declining demand for letters and growing competition for parcel deliveries.

Previous attempts by IDS to overhaul the business in response to that competition have been strongly opposed by postal workers, who walked out for 18 days in 2022 over plans to bring working practices closer in line with more modern rivals.

Shares in IDS rose 3 per cent on Wednesday morning to 330 pence, significantly below the offer price, suggesting doubts over whether the deal will pass.

One top IDS shareholder said he was “disappointed” by the offer price, but warned that “if the deal doesn’t go through, you are stuck with a management team that didn’t want the company to remain public and no longer seem to believe there is much value”.

Analysts have previously suggested that a takeover of IDS could lead to a break-up of Royal Mail and the more profitable GLS, a move strongly opposed by the postal workers’ union. EP Group’s recommended offer, which includes restrictions on breaking up GLS from the broader IDS group for five years, comes just days after IDS said GLS had helped the group return to profit in the 12 months to March.

“The IDS board believes that the offer from EP is fair and reasonable given that there are uncertainties ahead and allows investors to realise value at a significant premium,” said IDS chair Keith Williams.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City.

Pool/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Pool/Getty Images

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City.

Pool/Getty Images

Nearly two dozen witnesses and 21 days of court later, Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial is coming to a close.

Twelve New Yorkers have been listening to witnesses like adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen.

Today, those jurors heard closing arguments, first from the defense, and then the prosecution. Now, they have to determine whether Trump falsified business records to cover up an alleged affair with Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

What final impressions did the closing arguments leave, and what could that mean for Donald Trump?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta. It was edited by Courtney Dorning.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for free

The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House

Donald Trump should not be convicted on the word of “the greatest liar of all time”, the former president’s defence told a New York jury during closing statements at the former president’s “hush money” trial, while prosecutors defended the account given by their star witness.

The days-long testimony of Michael Cohen, a former Trump acolyte turned sworn enemy, is crucial to establishing that the then-presidential candidate orchestrated a scheme to buy the silence of porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged an extramarital affair in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Cohen, then a lawyer for Trump, paid Daniels with $130,000 of his own money. Trump is charged with falsely recording reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses, in order to circumvent election laws.

Both sides homed in on Cohen during their closing statements, which lasted for nine hours on Tuesday.

Todd Blanche, an attorney for Trump, told jurors that Cohen — who once also acted as Trump’s general purpose “fixer” — had previously lied to federal judges, to US Congress, to his family and to banks, and was therefore the “human embodiment of reasonable doubt”. Cohen pleaded guilty to a suite of federal charges in 2018 and is a convicted perjurer.

Cohen “is biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true”, Blanche added. Cohen had revealed he has made more than $1mn from books and podcasts in which he recounts his animus towards Trump.

In response, prosecutors spent hours walking the jury through cheques, invoices, text messages, call logs and even extracts from Trump’s books that they said supported Cohen’s narrative. “Those documents tell you everything you need to know,” assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass said. “You don’t need Michael Cohen to connect those dots.”

Steinglass emphasised that the prosecution did not “choose Michael Cohen as a witness” or “pick him up at the witness store”.

“The defendant chose Michael Cohen,” he said. “He was his fixer.” Trump was “frugal, immersed in the details and insists on signing his own cheques” for whom the “cardinal sin” is overpaying for a service, Steinglass claimed, casting doubt on the idea that Trump was ignorant of how the alleged reimbursement scheme was set up.

Trump is a “micromanager” who “set in motion a chain of events that led to the creation of the false business records”, Steinglass claimed. Cohen’s payment — designed to prevent a damaging story from leaking — amounted to a “campaign contribution that massively exceeded the $2,700 limit” but also violated city, state and federal tax laws, he claimed.

“The law is the law and applies to everyone equally,” he told jurors as he wrapped up his hours-long presentation.

The duelling remarks came as the trial entered its final stretch, after the testimony of 22 witnesses over five weeks, including Daniels.

A verdict could come as soon as Wednesday, when the seven men and five women who make up the jury are likely to be handed the case for deliberations.

If found guilty, Trump is unlikely to be jailed but would probably face financial penalties and, if he were to win November’s election, would become the first US president to be a convicted criminal. He is also likely to appeal against any conviction. The trial — which comes in one of four criminal cases he is facing — has done little to dent his standing in the presidential polls.

While closing arguments were taking place on Tuesday, the campaign team for President Joe Biden for the first time sent surrogates to speak outside the Manhattan courthouse, including Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and two former police officers who were at the Capitol during the January 6 2021 riots and are now campaigning for the incumbent president.

“Donald Trump wants to destroy not only this city but the country, and eventually he could destroy the world,” said De Niro, a native New Yorker. “He doesn’t belong in my city,” the actor added. “I don’t know where he belongs, but he certainly doesn’t belong here.”

Trump, who was joined in court by his sons Eric and Don Jr, and by his daughter Tiffany, once again decried the case as “election interference” in his morning remarks. “They should have brought this case seven years ago, not in the middle of a presidential election,” he said.

Additional reporting by Lauren Fedor

Have your say

Joe Biden vs Donald Trump: tell us how the 2024 US election will affect you