THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Royal Dutch/Shell to Be Unified, Ending Century-Old Dual Structure
By BENOIT FAUCON OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
May 19, 2005
LONDON — Royal Dutch/Shell Group Thursday said its two parent companies, The Hague-based Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and London-based Shell Transport & Trading Co., will start trading as a single stock on July 20, ending a nearly century-old dual structure.
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant unveiled the final details of its unification plan, which will result in an organization with a single board, a U.S.-style chief executive and a nonexecutive chairman. Royal Dutch and Shell Transport will propose to their shareholders, who respectively own 60% and 40% of the company, to become subsidiaries of a new parent company, Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Shareholder approval is expected on June 28.
“In publishing the full documentation Thursday, we remain firmly on track for the completion of the transaction in July,” said Jeroen van der Veer, acting CEO of Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Mr. Van der Veer will become CEO of the unified entity. Aad Jacobs will be the nonexecutive chairman of the unified group.
Since January of last year, the company has restated its reserves five times and agreed in August to pay about $150 million in fines to U.S. and British regulators to settle charges that it misled investors.
In this context, the dual board structure, which dates back to 1907, has been criticized for its opacity.
Shell’s accounting problems, though, developed amid increased difficulties in accessing new energy resources.
The company confirmed Thursday that two classes of shares would be created following the unification: A shares for Royal Dutch holders and B shares for Shell Transport holders. The shares will have identical rights except for dividends.
Shell also reiterated its dividend policy, saying the board will “increase the dividend at least in line with inflation over time.”
In addition, the company said it intends to continue the $3 billion to $5 billion share-buyback program announced in February.
In midday trading Thursday, Shell Transport’s shares were up 0.2% in London at 473 pence, while Royal Dutch was up 1% at €46 in Amsterdam.
Write to Benoit Faucon at [email protected]
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
