The board of Royal Mail’s parent company has accepted a £3.57 billion offer to buy the group from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. If the deal goes through, it would see the organisation become part of Mr Kretinsky’s company, EP Group. But who is Mr Kretinsky – and why is he trying to buy the postal service? – How did Daniel Kretinsky make his money? The 48-year-old, known as the “Czech sphinx” because of his quiet, inscrutable style, is an entrepreneur and lawyer with a net worth of £6 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. He built his fortune in the energy industry, and has assets spanning the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands and the UK. They include Eustream, which moves Russian gas via pipelines running through Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. – Why does he want to buy Royal Mail? Mr Kretinsky is already a 27% shareholder in Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS). When he most recently upped his stake in 2022, ministers said they would launch a national security probe into the company, but eventually cleared the stake holding. Mr Kretinsky said in a statement on Wednesday that his company has...