Unilever is to keep its dual structure, including separate listings in London and Rotterdam, after a review found that a single entity would have tax consequences for investors and the company.
Antony Burgmans, chairman, said: "Unitary structures did not have compelling benefits."
The decision comes after Unilever replaced its dual chairman/ chief executive structure with a single executive and disappointed investors looking for changes.
"Change is not as powerful an engine within the company as they might have you believe," said a fund manager at an institutional investor with Unilever stock. John McMillin, analyst at Prudential Equity Group, said the move to a single listing could have added momentum to the "slow-moving" company.
Investors said a dual stock listing made it more difficult for the company to undertake stock buybacks and to raise money for acquisitions.
However, Unilever said that moving to a single listing would have been disruptive and that it would have made it more difficult for the company to arbitrage its corporate tax liabilities between the UK and the Netherlands.
It said investors would also be affected. UK taxpayers receive tax credits on UK-sourced dividends and Dutch shareholders can reclaim or avoid withholding tax on Dutch-sourced dividends. - (Financial Times service)
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