Four Unilever shareholders say they oppose Rotterdam move

So far four Unilever shareholders controlling 6.34% of the company’s shares have come out against the company’s decision to consolidate its headquarters in Rotterdam, according to Britain’s Times newspaper.

M&G, part of the insurance giant Prudential, is the latest to join the opposition, together with Lindsell Train, Colombia Threadneedle and Aviva Investors, the paper said.

The shareholder vote on the move in Britain will take place at the end of October and requires a 75% majority in support of the move.  Dutch shareholders have a separate vote, with a 50% majority requirement.

Since it was founded in 1930, the Anglo-Dutch soups-to-soaps giant has maintained two separate headquarters – in London and in Rotterdam – as well as dual bourse listings and dual fiscal entities. But Unilever has always operated as a single business with a single board of directors.

The Anglo-Dutch healthcare-to-foods concern confirmed the long-awaited decision to move to Rotterdam in March.