Unilever has cleared a significant hurdle to become a wholly British company. A majority voted in favor of ‘unification’ at the Dutch shareholders’ meeting.
This means that the Dutch shareholders agree that the Dutch head office will be closed and the entire company will be managed from London.
Now Unilever still has a complicated structure with two head offices in Rotterdam and London and two types of shares: Dutch and British.
Complicated
According to the company, this structure has had its day. With two head offices, different laws and regulations in the Netherlands and the UK and two types of shares, it is too difficult for Unilever to respond quickly to market developments, the company says.
For example, making acquisitions would become considerably easier if the company was set up a bit more simply. The shareholders of NV shares, that is to say Dutch shares, are en masse. The proposal received more than 99 percent of the vote.
It is the turn of the British
But formally, the race is not yet over. It will be the turn of the British shareholders next month. They must agree to the proposal on October 12.
If everything goes according to plan, Unilever could be a real British company by November 22.
Extra hurdle
But a dark cloud lingers above the plans: the GroenLinks bill for an exit tax. For the time being it is completely unclear whether that bill can be piloted through parliament, but if that succeeds Unilever will be left with the baked pears.
The bottom line is that in case of relocation, the shareholders of the company will be assessed for about 11 billion euros in dividend tax. It is up to the company to collect this over a period of many years.
Unilever has previously announced that if the law is passed, the relocation plans will be canceled.