Your support helps us tell the story.
From reproductive rights to climate change and big tech, The Independent is on the ground as the story unfolds. Whether investigating the finances of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word,' which sheds light on American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to analyze the facts from the messaging .
At such a critical time in American history, we need journalists on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to talk about both sides of the story.
Americans across the political spectrum trust The Independent. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to exclude Americans from our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to all and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The British government has been awarded a golden share in the recently sold Royal Mail in a bid to keep it in the UK.
The sale of Royal Mail to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP group was approved by the government this week.
To get the deal passed, he made a number of concessions, including promising, through the so-called golden share, to maintain the postal service in the United Kingdom.
This means you will pay taxes here and remain based in Great Britain.
The £3.6bn scheme is likely to be completed by March 2025.
The deal, which reportedly also includes a concession that allows employees to receive 10 percent of dividends paid by the company.
Gold shares are commitments that companies make to the government. They allow the government to veto certain activities, but do not allow any other voice or access to dividends.
They often prevent a company or foreign country from taking over a company.
Britain owns gold shares in BAE Systems, which is one of the world's largest defense companies, making everything from fighter jets and tanks to nuclear submarines and warships; and also Rolls-Royce, which makes power plants for nuclear-powered submarines.
In the case of Royal Mail, the legally binding agreement gives the government some comfort that its new owner will not eliminate the company for tax reasons.
Gerald Khoo, an analyst at investment bank Panmure Liberum, said: “We don't expect shareholders to expect a better price, especially given the headwind from rising national insurance costs.”
These gold stock deals don't always work. The government's gold share in BAA, the UK airport authority which operated Heathrow airport before being sold back, was ruled illegal by EU courts in 2003.
Similar mechanisms for exercising control without majority ownership can be seen at Volkswagen. The founding Porsche and Piech families own the majority of Porsche SE, which holds the majority of voting rights in Volkswagen. Hence, families control the company without owning a majority of the shares of the underlying automaker.
