Unilever to appease investors over its ‘Dutch office’ move

Bloomberg

Unilever is campaigning to convince a growing number of dissenting UK shareholders that the company’s plan to consolidate its headquarters in the Netherlands has merit.
The Anglo-Dutch consumer giant’s move to Rotterdam will have “great benefits” for UK investors, Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said in a Tuesday interview with the BBC Radio 4 station, noting that they would still be able to purchase London-listed stock and have dividends paid out in pounds.
Shareholders including M&G Investments, Aviva Plc and Lindsell Train have said they intend to vote against the proposal at a meeting on October 26 in London. Funds based in the UK have little incentive to favor the simplification of Unilever’s corporate structure, meaning the outcome of a vote
by Unilever Plc shareholders is “by no means guaranteed,” Avalon Capital Markets wrote in a note to investors last week.
Avalon estimates that more than a fifth of UK shareholders could vote against the simplification, which would result in the motion being blocked.
The maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream has said it almost certainly will not be able to keep its membership in the FTSE 100 index once it combines its headquarters in Rotterdam, despite retaining a London listing.
The concern from UK shareholders is twofold — that funds tracking the FTSE will be forced out of holding Unilever stock, and that a mass sale of Plc shares will wipe out some of the stock’s gains.