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May 20th, 2005:

Royal Dutch Shell merger voting date fixed

Lloyds List: Royal Dutch Shell merger voting date fixed

Martyn Wingrove

May 20, 2005

SHAREHOLDERS of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport will finally vote on merging the group into one entity next month and benefit from a $3bn-$5bn share buyback programme.

The Anglo-Dutch group is unifying its management and ownership to form Royal Dutch Shell following last year’s oil reserves scandal and after calls from leading shareholders to improve corporate governance.

The previous company went through a rough period last year as it slashed more than a quarter of its booked oil reserves and sacked chairman Philip Watts and its head of exploration and production. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Timetable proposed for unified Shell

Financial Times: Timetable proposed for unified Shell

Posted 20 May 05

By Clay Harris in London

Shares in the unified Royal Dutch Shell will begin trading on July 20 under the timetable announced yesterday by the Dutch-UK oil and gas group.

The schedule was in line with previously outlined proposals to create a single company – incorporated in the UK but with its headquarters in the Hague – after nearly a century of federation between Royal Dutch and Shell Transport and Trading.

The new structure was proposed after a series of reserves restatements in 2004 raised questions about the group’s corporate governance. The plan needs to be approved by shareholders and the UK High Court on June 28. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Under which Shell a new chairman?

Financial Times: Under which Shell a new chairman?

By Clay Harris

Published: May 20 2005

Now that Royal Dutch Shell has its date for unification, it’s time to turn attention to the next task, finding a new chairman. Aad Jacobs intends to stand down at the 2006 annual meeting, when the board wants to have an external candidate ready to take his place. The search is being led by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, deputy chairman and senior independent director.

But Mudlark understands that some candidates have raised a surprising objection – none of them wants to live in The Hague, a requirement seen as non-negotiable. In the case of US candidates, there’s a cheeky temptation to blame the proximity of the International Court of Justice. But even Lloyds TSB chairman Maarten van den Bergh, were he not disqualified by already being on the board, is said not to be keen about living in The Hague. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell buybacks to target Dutch shares after merger

Reuters: Shell buybacks to target Dutch shares after merger

Posted 20 May 05

By Tom Bergin, European Oil and Gas Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil major Shell said its $3 billion to $5 billion buyback programme this year would target shares originating from its Dutch rather than UK holding company, after a planned merger of the two on July 20.

The world’s third-largest listed oil group by market capitalisation announced the final terms for the unification of its two parents in a statement on Thursday.

The creation of a new merged firm, Royal Dutch Shell, is designed to improve corporate governance after a damaging reserves overbooking scandal last year, which many investors blamed on the complex management structure. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Daily Telegraph: Britons gain upper hand in Shell rejig

Daily Telegraph: Britons gain upper hand in Shell rejig

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 20/05/2005)

Shell’s British shareholders are likely to take a majority holding in the oil and gas giant for the first time in 100 years as a result of the company’s plans to simplify its dual listing next month.

The Anglo-Dutch company yesterday formally laid out its plans to unify its structure in the wake of the company’s annus horribilis last year when it admitted that it had exaggerated its proven reserves by 25pc. Shell’s current structure, in which the company is 60pc-40pc owned by Royal Dutch investors in the Netherlands and Shell Transport and Trading shareholders in the UK, dates from 1907. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Independent: Overhaul of Shell costs pounds 67m in fees

The Independent: Overhaul of Shell costs pounds 67m in fees

Michael Harrison Business Editor

May 20, 2005

Investment banks and other professional advisers have picked up $115m (pounds 63m) in fees from the corporate restructuring of the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.

Details of the cost of transforming the Anglo-Dutch group into a single company with a unified board and one chairman and chief executive are contained in listing particulars being sent to shareholders.

The bulk of the pounds 63m in fees has gone to Shell’s three investment bank advisers, Citigroup, Rothschild and ABN Amro. Its lawyers ” Slaughter & May in the UK, De Brauw in the Netherlands and Cravath in the US ” have also picked up large fees, as have its two auditors, KPMG and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell pays £63m in streamlining costs

The Guardian: Shell pays £63m in streamlining costs 

Terry Macalister

Friday May 20, 2005

Shell has been forced to pay $115m (£63m) in advisers’ fees and taxes to move from a dual-company structure to a more traditional unified board following its reserves scandal.

Documents released by the oil major last night make clear the huge cost of the shake-up, aimed to reassure investors that Shell’s management is becoming more streamlined.

A terse statement in the listings particulars states: “The aggregate costs and expenses payable by RDS [Royal Dutch Shell] group in connection with the transaction are estimated to amount to $115m.” Some will go to investment houses such as Deutsche Bank and ABN Amro, which are independent advisers to the British and Dutch arms of Shell respectively. Meanwhile, audit fees to KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers have soared from $32m in 2003 to $42m in 2004. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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