Takeover update
As you know, International Distribution Services plc (IDS) (the parent company of Royal Mail and GLS) is under offer from EP Group to acquire the company.
In August last year the offer timetable (the legal process for the takeover) was suspended under the rules of the Takeover Code to allow time for a series of regulatory approvals to be obtained.
Today it has been announced that the outstanding regulatory approvals have been secured and the offer timetable has resumed. Therefore, if you own IDS shares and wish to accept the offer and receive the takeover proceeds at the earliest possible opportunity, please ensure that your acceptance is received by the relevant acceptance deadline(s). The relevant acceptance deadline depends on how you hold your IDS shares. So, it’s important to check the relevant acceptance deadline using the table below:
|
If you hold your shares |
Deadline for acceptance |
|
In the form of share certificates |
As soon as possible and no later than 1.00pm on 30 April 2025.* *This means your completed form of acceptance together with the share certificates must be received by Equiniti by this time. It is recommended to allow 4 business days for postage. |
|
Via the Royal Mail Share Incentive Plan (SIP) |
As soon as possible and no later than 1.00pm on 25 April 2025. |
|
Via the IDS Nominee Share Service |
As soon as possible and no later than 1.00pm on 25 April 2025. |
It is important to note that the acquisition will only go ahead if shareholders holding at least 75% of IDS shares accept the offer by 30 April 2025. If this takes place on or before this date, the acquisition will complete and IDS will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange and become a private company owned by EP Group.
How do I accept the offer?
The process for accepting the offer depends on the way you hold your shares, so for more details please see our reminder of how to accept.
Shareholders should have received communications in June 2024 with details on how to accept the offer, including shares held by employees as part of the Share Incentive Plan. Equiniti, the company’s registrar, will shortly be resending these communications to shareholders who had not accepted the offer as of 10 February 2025.
If you have not already done so, please read the communications carefully and, if you wish to sell your shares, complete the form applicable to your shares as per the instructions sent to you. If you hold shares in more than one way, for example, through the Share Incentive Plan or via a retail platform, you will have received more than one set of instructions. It is important that you follow each set of instructions carefully and complete all necessary steps by the relevant deadline(s) above in order to accept the offer for all of your different shareholdings.
We are always mindful of protecting the company and our colleagues from cyber security threats. Some other companies – and their shareholders - going through a change of ownership have been targeted in the past. So please be alert to any suspicious behaviour. If you do receive any unusual communication purporting to be from Royal Mail, IDS or EP Group, it’s important that you check the request is genuine, using the link or helpline below.
Where can I go for more information?
Equiniti has set up a website with details about the offer, including FAQs for IDS shareholders who hold shares via the Share Incentive Plan, the IDS Nominee Share Service or in the form of share certificates: www.idsoffer.shareview.info/.
If you have questions or would like to clarify how to accept the offer, please contact the Equiniti Shareholder Helpline on +44 (0) 330 123 0058.
Full details relating to EP Group’s offer to acquire IDS, including the offer document, can also be found on the IDS website here: Recommended Offer for IDS plc by EP UK Bidco Limited.
Further colleague information can be found on myroyalmail here, including a Q&A document. Managers with frontline teams can share this WTLL brief with colleagues.
