Unilever will be fully British from Sunday 29 November. Until now, the food company was partly Dutch, but wants to get rid of this ‘dual structure’. The official step will be taken on Sunday, bringing an end to ninety years of Dutch citizenship.
On January 1, 1930, the British Lever Brothers and the Dutch Margarine Unie merged into Unilever. Since then, the British-Dutch company has grown into a globally operating multinational.
But as the company grew, the so-called dual structure began to squeeze. This structure proved impractical, especially when making acquisitions. After a previous agreement of the Dutch and the British shareholders and the consent of the British Supreme Court the company will take the official step this weekend.
Two years ago, Unilever wanted to become fully Dutch. This plan was then thrown off the table due to resistance from British shareholders. Another factor was that a discussion took place in the Netherlands about the abolition of dividend tax. If it were not abolished, Prime Minister Mark Rutte feared that companies would leave the Netherlands. He cited Unilever as an example. After much criticism, the dividend tax persisted.
Now, two years later, Unilever is indeed leaving the Netherlands. When the company announced the news in June, Minister Eric Wiebes (Economic Affairs and Climate) said that maintaining the dividend tax could be related to Unilever’s decision. The company itself sticks to the explanation that takeovers are easier when it has one nationality.
Rotterdam branch no longer head office
Until now the company had two head offices, both in London and Rotterdam. The Rotterdam office will no longer be head office after this weekend, but will remain in use. The development has no consequences for employment either.
Unilever is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, among others. At the end of the trading day on Friday, the company was briefly taken off the stock exchange, in order to regain its place on the Amsterdam stock exchange on Monday as a purely British company.
Although Unilever will take the step on Sunday, there is still one bear on the road. GroenLinks wants companies that leave the Netherlands to a country without dividend tax to receive an additional tax. According to the current plans, this levy would amount to an amount of 11 billion euros for Unilever.
GroenLinks’ intention has yet to be approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives. It is unclear whether both agree with the plans. If so, Unilever may request permission from the British Supreme Court to reverse the letting go of the Dutch identity.
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