THE HAGUE, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Unilever will pick Rotterdam, the Netherlands as its headquarters, leaving London as a second headquarters, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company announced on Thursday.
Unilever, producer of many well known daily necessities brands, such as Lipton tea, Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Jerry's ice cream, stated that it intends to change from two legal entities into one single legal entity, incorporated and tax-resident in the Netherlands.
Unilever has been owned through two separately listed companies, a Dutch N.V. and a UK PLC, since its formation in 1930. The company now concluded that a single holding company brings greater simplicity and more flexibility.
Secondly Unilever announced that it will evolve into a company with three divisions instead of the current four, Personal Care, Foods, Home Care and Refreshment. These three divisions are Beauty and Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods and Refreshment.
The headquarters of the Beauty and Personal Care Division and the Home Care Division will be located in London, the headquarters of the Foods and Refreshment Division continue to be based in Rotterdam.
"Unilever's board believes the move to three Divisions and the simplification of our corporate structure will create a simpler, more agile and more focused company with increased strategic flexibility for value-creating portfolio change," stated Marijn Dekkers, Chairman of Unilever, in a press release.
"Our decision to headquarter the divisions in United Kingdom and the Netherlands underscores our long-term commitment to both countries. The changes announced today also further strengthen Unilever's corporate governance, creating for the first time in our history a 'one share, one vote' principle for all our shareholders."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte welcomed the decision. "This is good news," he told Dutch national broadcaster NOS on Thursday.
"It is very important to have such a headquarters here, because in the headquarters decision are made," said Rutte.
The new measures came one year after a failed attempt for a take-over by Kraft Heinz. In February last year the United States foods giant stopped its attempt to acquire the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company, after Unilever called the bid "fundamentally undervaluing Unilever".
The Netherlands has more favorable takeover protection rules, which can be considered as a main reason for the decision to choose for Rotterdam as sole headquarters.
According to Unilever CEO Paul Polman the move has nothing to do with Brexit. The company emphasizes that employment of 7,300 people in Britain and 3,100 people in the Netherlands will be unaffected by the changes. It will also continue to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext in Amsterdam and on the New York Stock Exchange.
