It has been operating a postal service in England since the reign of Henry VIII. EP Group has until May 29 to convert its £3.5 billion ($4.4 billion) non-biding offer into a formal bid for IDS. The likely sale would come after a difficult few years for Royal Mail, which was privatized in 2013. ‘As British as it gets’The potential buyout of Royal Mail has stirred anxieties about the consequences of the iconic British institution coming under foreign ownership. “Royal Mail is an important national asset that would benefit from being able to take a longer-term view,” the firm said.

---

Persons: Henry VIII, Daniel Křetínský, Křetínský, Patrik Tkáč, Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, Dave Ward, ”, ” Ward, Jonathan Reynolds, ” Ivana Kottasová Organizations: London CNN — Royal Mail, Distribution Services, IDS, Royal Mail, UK Department for Business, Trade, CNN, Bloomberg, Equity Investment, Newsweek, West Ham United Football Club, Reuters, Communication Workers Union, Labour Party, Royal, Labour Locations: England, Czech, British, United States, FNAC, France, United Kingdom, West