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Nature of the trading market
The main non-US market for NV ordinary shares is the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange, where NV shares trade in the
form of Nedamtrust Certificates. Almost all these shares
are in bearer form. In the United States, NV shares are
issued in registered form and transferred by Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company of New York, NV’s transfer agent
in the United States, and they are traded on The New
York Stock Exchange.
At 28 April 2000 there were 7 478 registered holders of
NV ordinary shares in the United States. We estimate that
approximately 30% of NV’s ordinary shareholdings were in
the US (34% in 1998), based on the distribution of the
1999 final dividend payments.
The London Stock Exchange is the main non-US trading
market for PLC ordinary shares, which are all registered.
American Depositary Receipts, which each represent four
PLC ordinary shares, trade on The New York Stock
Exchange in the form of depositary receipts. The receipts
are issued and exchanged in New York by the Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company of New York, as Depositary
under a deposit agreement with PLC and receipt holders.
On 28 April 2000 there were 581 registered holders of
depositary receipts in the United States. Most holders of
PLC ordinary shares are registered in the United Kingdom
– 99% in both 1999 and 1998.
The high and low trading prices of these securities in each
quarter of the last two years are shown below.
NV and PLC are both public companies, with separate
stock exchange listings and different shareholders. You
cannot convert or exchange the shares of one for shares
of the other. There is no fixed relationship between the
trading prices of their shares – the relative share prices on
the various markets can, and do, fluctuate from day to
day and hour to hour. This happens for various reasons,
including changes in exchange rates. But over time the
prices of PLC and NV shares do stay in close relation to
each other, in particular because of our equalisation
arrangements. (See Control of Unilever – Equalisation
Agreement).
If you are a shareholder of NV you have a direct interest
in a Dutch legal entity. Your dividends will be paid in euros
(converted into US dollars if you have shares registered in
the United States) and will be subject to Dutch tax. If you
are a shareholder of PLC your interest is in a United
Kingdom legal entity, your dividends will be paid in
sterling (converted into US dollars if you have American
Depositary Receipts) and you will be subject to United
Kingdom tax. Nevertheless the Equalisation Agreement
means that as a shareholder of either company you
effectively have an interest in the whole of Unilever. You
have largely equal rights over our combined net profit and
capital reserves as shown in the consolidated accounts.
(See Taxation for US Residents on page 124 and Control
of Unilever on page 118).
00000000000000001111
1999 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 1 1 101111 05111 05111 05111 05111
NV per Fl. 1.12 ordinary share in Amsterdam in € High 74 69 73 64
Low 62 62 64 49
NV per Fl. 1.12 ordinary share in New York in $ High 88 72 74 68
Low 66 65 67 50
PLC per 1.4p ordinary share in London in pence High 695 603 649 580
Low 546 537 572 401
PLC per American Share in New York in $ High 47 39 41 38
Low 36 35 37 27
01111 05111 05111 05111 05111
1998 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
01111 05111 05111 05111 05111
NV per Fl. 1 ordinary share in Amsterdam in Fl. High 143 168 169 161
Low 118 140 107 111
NV per Fl. 1 ordinary share in New York in $ High 69 83 84 86
Low 56 70 59 60
PLC per 1.25p ordinary share in London in pence High 584 707 694 677
Low 480 583 460 476
PLC per American Share in New York in $ High 40 46 46 46
Low 32 40 32 33
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