Unilever to Create Single Legal Entity Incorporated in Netherlands
March 15 2018 - 4:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Ian Walker
Anglo-Dutch consumer products company Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN)
said Thursday that it will combine its two legal entities--NV and
PLC--into a single holding company incorporated in the Netherlands,
dealing a blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May's government
as it negotiates the country's exit from the European Union.
Unilever, which houses the Ben & Jerry's, Dove and
Hellmann's brands among its portfolio, said it will focus on three
main divisions: beauty & personal care, home care, and foods
& refreshment.
The headquarters of the beauty & personal care and the home
care divisions will be in London, while foods & refreshment
will continue to be based in the Dutch sity of Rotterdam, the
company said.
Unilever said that none of its employees will be affected by the
changes. It currently has 7,300 staff in the U.K. and 3,100 in the
Netherlands.
As part of the unification, the company will seek a premium
listing on the London Stock Exchange, and listings on Euronext in
Amsterdam and on the New York Stock Exchange.
Under the plan Unilever expects to issue one new NV share for
each NV and PLC share held. Proposals are expected to be put to
shareholders for approval around the end of the third quarter of
this year, with completion toward the end of this year.
The current structure--essentially a combination of a British
and a Dutch operating company, each with their own shares--has been
in place since Lever Brothers, an English soap maker, and Dutch
margarine producer Margarine Unie 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's current head offices
are split between London and Rotterdam.
Apart from making mergers-and-acquisitions easier, moving to a
single share class would also eliminate certain administrative
burdens. Board members must currently attend back-to-back
shareholder meetings in London and Rotterdam once a year.
The move to Rotterdam also offers higher protection to hostile
takeovers than the U.K.
Saabira Chaudhuri contributed to this article.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 15, 2018 03:48 ET (07:48 GMT)
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