Royal Mail in line for 'Tell Sid' privatisation
Martin Hickman
"Royal Mail could be sold back to the public in a "Tell Sid"-style share offering redolent of the Conservatives' big state privatisations of decades ago, the Coalition Government said yesterday, as it confirmed plans to end hundreds of years of state ownership of the national postal service.
"In a much more extensive sale than expected, the Government said it would dispose of some or all of the state's 100 per cent holding in the publicly owned company in a private sale or a public share offering, akin to the sell-offs of British Telecom, British Airways and British Gas in the 1980s.
"To make the shrinking business more attractive, the state will take over Royal Mail's £8bn pension black hole, assuming the fund's future liabilities of £34bn, but gaining assets of £26bn, which may be sold off to reduce the budget deficit."
Pour citer cette ressource :
"Royal Mail in line for 'Tell Sid' privatisation", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), octobre 2010. Consulté le 06/10/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/royal-mail-in-line-for-tell-sid-privatisation