Unilever Board Meets On Possible Move To Rotterdam
March 14 2018 - 1:52PM
Dow Jones News
By Saabira Chaudhuri and Costas Paris
LONDON -- The board of Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant Unilever
PLC is favoring a plan that would consolidate its dual headquarters
in Rotterdam, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The maker of staples such as Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise
currently splits its headquarters between London and Rotterdam, in
the Netherlands. That is a legacy of its dual structure, which
essentially consists of two separate British and Dutch operating
companies, each with its own shares.
Following an unsolicited takeover approach by Kraft Heinz Co.
early last year, Unilever launched a review of that structure and
determined that unification was in the best interests of the
company and shareholders. The big question ever since has been
whether Unilever would pick London or Rotterdam to base a combined
entity.
The company's board was expected to meet Wednesday to discuss
the issue and could make a decision later in the day. An
announcement could come as early as Thursday.
"As it stands now, Rotterdam is favored over London," a person
familiar with the matter said. A Unilever spokesman said Wednesday
afternoon that a decision by the board hadn't been made. He
declined to comment further. Sky News reported earlier Wednesday
that Unilever's board was preparing to vote for Rotterdam.
The decision has taken on outsized significance in the U.K.,
which is in the process of negotiating its exit from the European
Union. Critics of that move -- triggered by a 2016 referendum --
have warned the split from the EU could force some big companies to
move to the Continent to remain part of its common market and to
continue to take advantage of the free movement of labor across the
bloc, among other issues.
Unilever, one of Europe's biggest companies, has taken into
account issues related to Brexit, as well as specific protections
the Netherlands affords against hostile takeovers, according to the
person familiar with the matter.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is a former Unilever executive
who maintains close ties with the company, speaking at dinners it
organizes and attending sustainability-focused events alongside
Unilever Chief Executive Paul Polman.
Unilever's roots run deep in the U.K., too. The company, which
has about 7,000 employees in the country, has three global research
facilities here in addition to various manufacturing sites and
distribution depots. Its London offices occupy an imposing
neoclassical art deco edifice overlooking the River Thames. There
are unlikely to be significant job losses associated with any move,
according to the person familiar the matter.
Unilever's current structure has been in place since Lever
Bros., an English soap maker, and Margarine Unie, a Dutch margarine
producer, agreed to join forces in 1929. The structure has evolved
since then, but the company continues to operate like separate
legal entities fused under a group-wide set of senior managers and
directors.
Unilever said after completing its review that a combined
structure would provide "greater ongoing strategic flexibility for
value-creating portfolio change."
Critics of the current structure have complained it is unwieldy
and can interfere with deal making -- including by hindering the
company's ability to use stock to make big acquisitions. The shares
of the two operating companies, Unilever PLC and Unilever NV,
aren't convertible and the value of a single share in each company
must remain equal. That makes it tough to issue new stock to fund a
deal.
The company previously has said it plans to maintain listings in
the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. and would remain subject to
British and Dutch corporate governance codes.
--Jason Douglas in London contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2018 13:37 ET (17:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024