UK government to privatise Royal Mail
12 Sep 2013
The UK government has conveyed its intention to privatise Royal Mail "in the coming weeks", in a formal notice to the stock exchange, the BBC reported.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said he expected the sale to take place in November.
Employees would get 10 per cent of the shares, with the rest offered to institutional investors and members of the public.
Members of the public could apply for a minimum of shares worth £750.
Around 150,000 UK-based Royal Mail employees would get free shares. They would be able to apply for additional shares under an employee priority offer, with a minimum application of £500.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is opposed to the move and will be balloting its members for strike action. The ballot outcome would be announced on 3 October.
According to Royal Mail, CWU members was likely to vote for industrial action, with 10 October being the first date available for a strike.
According to the government, it would be flexible about how much of the Royal Mail to sell depending on market conditions and how much demand was there for the shares.
However, it plans to sell at least 41 per cent, which together with giving away 10 per cent to employees meant it would no longer own the majority of Royal Mail.
Business secretary Vince Cable told the the online eveningtelegraph that an initial public offering (IPO) was expected in the coming weeks, adding it was an "important day" for the Royal Mail and its employees.
Cable said, the government was taking action to secure a healthy future for the company, adding, the measures would help ensure the long-term sustainability of the six-days-a- week universal postal service.
He added, by announcing that the government intended to move ahead with a sale of shares in Royal Mail it was completing the third and final part of the reforms agreed in parliament two years ago.
According to Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene the government strategy was delivering a revitalised company, with a unique, UK, multi-use network through which the government would be proud to deliver the universal postal service for all UK citizens.
According to Chuka Umunna, Labour shadow business secretary, ministers were pushing ahead with this politically motivated fire sale of Royal Mail to fill the hole left by George Osborne's failed plan.
