Business secretary Sajid Javid boasted today was a “a truly historic day for Royal Mail with the workers gaining a share of this history”.
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The government has initiated a process to sell its final stake of 14% in UK’s postal service company Royal Mail, in line with its privatisation strategy outlined by Chancellor George Osborne during the July budget.
The United Kingdom government apparently thought now was the right time to dispose of the rest of their stake, which would be worth close to $1 billion based on the current share price, as they have announced plans to finalize the sale this week.
The placing of around 13% of equity with institutional investors was completed at a price of 455p followed a similarly sized placing in June this year.
The 2013 privatisation of the 500-year-old postal operator attracted criticism from opposition politicians and trade unions who said the firm had been sold off too cheaply after the shares quickly rose as much as 87 percent. “By fully leaving state ownership we have a win all round – for customers, the workforce and the taxpayer”.
Shares in Britain’s national mail carrier, which for all of its history has been at least part owned by the government, tanked at the opening bell this morning. And every penny will be used to pay down our national debt as we continue to bring our public finances under control.
In total, employees now own 12 per cent of the company.
One report by a panel under Lord Myners published in December a year ago suggested that the government made £180million less from the sale of Royal Mail than it could have.
The Communication Workers Union said the move was a “disgrace”.
“The Tories have instead chosen an ideological course that puts the fundamental ethos of a centuries old national institution in jeopardy”.
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“Royal Mail remains committed to the Universal Service Obligation and to delivering for all 29 million homes and businesses in the United Kingdom”.
