Consumer goods giant Unilever defended its plan to move its headquarters to the Netherlands at what could be its last London annual general meeting, on Wednesday, saying that the decision had nothing to do with protectionism or Dutch takeover rules.
Unilever chairman Marijn Dekkers repeated that the choice of the Netherlands, announced in March, was aimed at strategic flexibility, rather than protectionism.
If the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream had a protective mindset for incorporating in the Netherlands, it would not have sought to cancel existing Dutch preference shares that allowed certain shareholders a greater voice than others, Dekkers said.
