Unilever Plc Holders Refusing to Go Dutch Get Their Way
Photographer: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images
In recent weeks, Unilever Plc shareholders grew increasingly vocal about their opposition to a plan to scrap the company’s dual listing and consolidate in the Netherlands. It wasn’t just patriotism that got in the way -- the pressure of potentially being a forced seller of the shares didn’t help either.
With Unilever only domiciling in the Netherlands -- where their listing traces its roots to the 1920s -- it was going to be booted from the benchmark FTSE 100 index in the U.K. That would have forced index-tracking investors to sell, and not at a moment of their choosing, a circumstance few investors welcome. Shareholders were also concerned about a protectionist trend in the Netherlands that may have limited takeovers.