Here is a lesson for younger hacks, investors and bankers.
In May 2023, Daniel Kretinsky, the eastern European billionaire dubbed the 'Czech Sphinx', suggested to Oliver "Shahsy" Shah of The Sunday Times in a wide ranging, set piece on the record interview that he has no intention of launching a takeover bid for Royal Mail...
Deal hacks at the Financial Times have just delivered a decent scoop.
According to the venerable Financial Times, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is preparing a takeover bid for Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services. Below is a link to the FT story:
https://www.ft.com/content/a6f0251b-454b-4aa8-9c16-aee03f0c2e46..
It's taken almost a year but it would appear beleguered France-lised IT services group Atos has struck a deal to sell the less exciting part of the business (Tech Foundations) to a EP Equity Investment, a company backed by Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky.
As part of the transaction Atos would do a EURO 900 million capital raise, rebrand as Eviden and then remain a listed company focused cyber security (this is the division that Airbus and others wanted to buy last year)...
Hat tip to Olly "Shahsy" Shah for landing the first ever on the record interview in a British newspaper with Daniel Kretinsky, the energy tycoon dubbed the Czech Sphinx.
Kretinsky has been building large stakes in some of Britain's biggest companies, such as J Sainsbury and Royal Mail...
Apologies for the lack posts over the last few days; little old Betaville took a few days off over the festive period...