On offer to all, £750 of shares in the Royal Mail after Government starts process of privatising £3bn business Every British adult will be allowed to buy £750 worth of shares in the Royal Mail when it floats on the stock market, ministers said yesterday. The Government yesterday formally fired the starting gun on the flotation of the £3billion business, ending its 378-year history of state ownership. Anybody who is 18 or over, and has a UK address and a bank account in this country will be eligible to buy shares in the flotation which will take place "in the coming weeks." The share sale will also be open to institutional investors from around the world, which raises the prospects of the Royal Mail being ultimately controlled by foreign owners. The move was rejected by Margaret Thatcher when she was prime minister because she was "not prepared to have the Queen's head privatised." But yesterday Business Secretary Vince Cable hailed the privatisation announcement as "an important day." The Royal Mail revealed plans to pay £133million in dividends in July next year, and said it would have paid £200million if it had been listed for a whole year. Royal Mail will be floated on the London Stock Exchange, raising up to £3billion. The minimum investment for adults is £750, but it is not clear if there is a maximum because the share prospectus has yet to be published. But the flotation comes at a time when the threat of a national postal strike is hanging over the Royal Mail. Postal unions warn strikes are "inevitable" over the privatisation, with union bosses gearing up to ensure any industrial walkouts disrupt the Government's timetable as much as possible. On October 3 the Communication Workers Union will announce the result of a ballot of its members - which means the earliest date at which it could organise a walkout is October 10. Business Minister Michael Fallon acknowledged the "natural apprehension" of the workforce, but insisted any strike "will certainly not prevent the sale going forward." He also dismissed fears that the "universal service obligation" is under threat, saying that it is enshrined in law. Royal Mail must deliver letters six days a week anywhere in Britain from the Cornish coast to the Scottish islands for the same price, and will continue to do so, he said. Around 10 per cent of the company will be given to 150,000 Royal Mail staff in an attempt bid to sweeten the deal, with shares worth up to £2,000 each handed out free. It is not clear exactly how much of the business will be sold by the Government, which has said only that it will dispose of "a majority." This could mean it sells as little as 41 per cent, because the 10 per cent given to postmen will be included in the figure calculated as the "majority." But Billy Hayes, the CWU's general secretary, said: "We remain convinced that privatisation is the wrong decision for Royal Mail. It would be bad for customers, bad for staff and bad for the industry. It would destroy a centuries-old public service. The flotation will not be accompanied by an advertising campaign on the scale of "Tell Sid" in 1986 when British Gas was privatised. A huge campaign of television and poster advertisements urged people to buy shares, with the slogan: "If you see Sid... Tell him! Shareholders in British Gas have prospered, but its customers complain of crippling bill increases. Investors who bought 1,000 shares when it floated in December 1986, would now have a holding worth between £12,000 and £16,000, depending on which part of the group they bought. Royal Mail shares will be advertised via intermediaries, such as stockbrokers; on the internet via a website; and via leaflets available in 1,600 post offices. The Post Office is now a separate business from Royal Mail, and will not be part of the flotation. But Parcelforce is included.