Consumer goods giant Unilever PLC is expected to announce March 15 a decision to consolidate its legal base and headquarters in the Netherlands, moving away from its current dual Dutch-U.K. structure, Sky News reported, without citing sources.
According to the report, directors will meet "in the coming hours" to finalize the decision.
Sky News said British government ministers, including Prime Minister Theresa May, had been briefed on the likely vote, which could deal a blow to the U.K.'s reputation as a center for international business.
The decision, if it is unveiled March 15, would coincide with a meeting between May and leaders from the business community to discuss issues related to the U.K.'s departure from the European Union, Sky News added.
The company's potential decision would not be a total surprise. The Financial Times reported Feb. 21 that May had been "bracing" for Unilever to vote in favor of a single headquarters in the Netherlands.
Unilever, the maker of Dove soaps, Lipton teas and Surf laundry detergents, has a market capitalization of more than £104 billion and is one of the largest companies in London's FTSE 100. While the company will retain its London listing, it will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the benchmark index, reducing the ability of fund managers who track the index to hold the shares, Sky News reported.
It has two parent companies — Unilever PLC and Unilever NV — a dual legal structure with headquarters in London and Rotterdam, and it holds two annual shareholder meetings. A single structure would simplify the business and provide flexibility, allowing the company to more easily restructure its operation.
The review was launched in April 2017 in the wake of an aborted $143 billion takeover attempt by Kraft Heinz Co.
Dutch corporate permits Netherlands-incorporated companies to adopt ?"poison pill" defenses to thwart hostile takeovers, a major factor in the yearlong review, Sky News reported, citing people close to the company.
Unilever, formed in 1930 from the combination of the Netherlands' Margarine Unie with the U.K.'s Lever Brothers, employs about 7,500 people in the U.K. and about 3,000 people in the Netherlands?.
