News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Evening Standard
Wall Street activist Dan Loeb says Shell risks becoming ‘tarnished’ unless it heeds his break-up call
Loeb’s Third Point Investors has been pushing for a break-up of Shell, calling its current business ‘confusing and unmanageable’
By Oscar Williams-Grut City Editor @OscarWGrut: 9 May 2022
The Wall Street activist pushing for a break-up of Shell has raised his stake in the business and said the oil giant risks becoming a “tarnished legacy brand” without reform.
Bloomberg
Loeb’s Third Point Adds to Shell Position: The London Rush
Bloomberg News: Charles Capel and Leonard Kehnscherper: May 09, 2022(Bloomberg)
EXTRACT
Third Point Investors Ltd: Dan Loeb’s flagship Offshore Fund returned -11.5% in the first quarter of 2022, dragged down by companies including Rivian Automotive, Inc and Cie Financiere Richemont SA.
The investment company said its stake in Shell Plc helped mitigate some of its losses, and it has found interesting new investments in oil and natural gas companies, as well as other companies that might benefit from inflation, supply shortages, and the energy transition
CITYA.M.
Dan Loeb adds to Shell stake despite doubling down on break-up calls
CHARLIE CONCHIE: SUNDAY 08 MAY 2022 12:29 PM
Activist investor Daniel Loeb has revealed he has added to his stake in energy giant Shell despite doubling down on calls for a shake-up to the energy major’s corporate structure.
Loeb, who revealed in October that his hedge fund Third Point had taken $750m stake in Shell, told his investors last week that he had upped his stake in the firm and had held discussions with the firm’s bosses.
Bloomberg
Activist Investor Dan Loeb Increases Shell Stake, Reuters Reports
(Bloomberg) — Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC has increased its $750 million stake in the energy giant Shell Plc as the investor seeks to pressure the company to split up its businesses, Reuters reported.
Loeb has held discussions with Shell’s management, board members and other shareholders, according to a letter sent to Third Point investors and seen by Reuters.
The letter described the company’s stock price as cheap but said there could be gains ahead with “proper management,” according to Reuters.
Reuters
Third Point’s Loeb praises Shell moves, sticks by calls for breakup
By Svea Herbst-BaylissNEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) – Activist investor Daniel Loeb, who wants Royal Dutch Shell Plc to break apart, applauded the energy giant’s decision to move its headquarters even as he sticks to views that a different corporate structure would make it more successful.
Loeb, who said in October that his hedge fund Third Point LLC had taken a $750 million stake in the company, told his own investors on Friday that he has added to his Shell stake and has held discussions with management, board members and other shareholders.
English translation of extracts from a Forbes article published in German on 1st March 2022.
FORBES
CAN SHELL GREEN?
In the public perception, Shell is an industrial giant – now Fabian Ziegler, Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Shell Holding GmbH since spring 2020, wants to make the company greener.
Will the Swiss succeed in pulling off the coup so vital to the group’s survival?
Text: Matthias Lauerer
Photo: Deutsche Shell Holding GmbH
1st March 2022
Is Shell on its way to a carbon-neutral future? Will this be a reimagined world, where green hydrogen, e-mobility and decarbonization have become a reality? Or do they prefer to greenwash to perpetuate the dirty old business model on which the global economy hangs?
By John Donovan
Following the airing of a Channel 4 TV documentary Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant on 24th October 2021, seismic changes have taken place at Royal Dutch Shell.
Based on the timing of the chain of events, it appears that the documentary may have contributed to the decision to bring a sudden end to the oil giant in its Anglo-Dutch form, under which it operated for over a hundred years.
Joe’s controversial impersonation of Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden including Ben shown literally talking shit about the green energy transition was cringe-making but made an impact.
REUTERS
Dan Loeb swats away activist with heavy hand
December 2, 202112:35 PM GMT
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Dan Loeb, the billionaire activist calling for change at Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), has fended off his own mini-revolt.
Shareholders in Third Point Investors (TPOGu.L), a UK-listed trust that owns a stake in Loeb’s main fund, roundly rejected a move by uppity shareholder Asset Value Investors to throw a Third Point employee, Josh Targoff, off the board.
Loeb’s victory is clear. Votes against the proposal numbered 30 million, versus just 9 million for it.
Allegations and Litigation Relating to Spymasters in Shell’s Corporate Security Department
By John Donovan
See below a self-explanatory email I sent yesterday to named senior executives at Shell.
It mentions the current momentous events at Royal Dutch Shell, although that is not the subject of the email. In that connection, I have not spotted any reference in current news coverage to the Dutch police raid at Shell’s current HQ in The Hague.
That astonishing development may have fuelled a growing feeling that the Dutch government has turned anti-Shell by allowing Nigerian and climate change litigation against Shell to proceed in the Dutch courts and tightening up Dutch tax regulations affecting Shell.
FORTUNE
Shell’s decision to leave the Netherlands is about keeping investors on its side in difficult times
BY KATHERINE DUNN: November 16, 2021 4:58 PM GMTThe Dutch government is scrambling to find a way to make Royal Dutch Shell remain royal and Dutch after the oil and gas giant announced Monday that it had decided to up sticks from its home in the Hague and move its headquarters to London.
The Dutch government’s eagerness to retain the giant firm is not surprising—and exactly how Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet are trying to do so says a lot about which of Shell’s stated reasons for moving is the most important one.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Dutch government rushes to keep Shell in Netherlands
The Dutch government has launched an eleventh-hour attempt to keep Shell in the Netherlands by seeking to abolish a controversial dividend tax cited by the energy group as a reason to unify its share structure and move its headquarters to the UK. Officials from the Dutch government told the Financial Times that the caretaker government of Mark Rutte was seeking to find a last-minute parliamentary majority to scrap a 15 per cent withholding tax that has long been a source of complaint for Shell and fellow Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever. The political machinations come hours after Shell announced it would end its dual-share structure…
Minister hails ‘vote of confidence’ for Brexit Britain as Shell moves its HQ to London from the Netherlands and plans to scrap ‘Royal Dutch’ from its name
Oil giant Shell today announced it will move its headquarters and tax residence to the UK and drop ‘Royal Dutch’ from its name for the first time in 130 years.
The decision was hailed as a ‘clear vote of confidence in the British economy that will ‘create jobs’ by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. The firm pays hundreds of millions of pounds worth of taxes every year, which will now go to the Treasury.
The Washington Post
The company, which has been incorporated in the U.K. with Dutch tax residency and dual class shares since 2005, said it wanted to move to a more conventional structure to be able to make the company more competitive as it seeks to meet the challenges of shifting toward cleaner energy.
Dutch officials said they were “unpleasantly surprised” by the move.
“The government deeply regrets that Shell wants to move its head office to the United Kingdom,” Dutch Economic Affairs and Climate Minister Stef Blok said. “We are in talks with the top of Shell about the implications of this move for jobs, critical investment decisions and sustainability.”
The New York Times
Shell Proposes Shift to Britain, Dropping ‘Royal Dutch’ From Name
The restructuring is meant to make the company more appealing to investors and make it easier to sell assets, the oil giant said.
: Nov. 15, 2021, 6:02 a.m. ETShell, Europe’s largest energy company, said Monday that it was proposing to move its headquarters to Britain from the Netherlands and make major changes in its share ownership and tax status.
The moves are designed to make the company, whose share price has lagged rivals, more appealing to investors, and they come less than a month after an activist investor, Daniel Loeb, suggested changes to the company’s structure. They are likely to be seen as a blow to the Netherlands, where Shell has an enormous presence, and a windfall for the British government as it struggles to demonstrate that Brexit can provide an economic boost.
REUTERS
Shell’s Dutch exit comes with legal side benefits
15 Nov 2021: By George Hay
Shifting its tax residency to the UK, along with its head office and CEO, simplifies the $170 bln oil major’s structure. It also makes it easier to reorganise for the energy transition. The implied snub to the Dutch court which ordered Shell to cut emissions is an added bonus.
Royal Dutch Shell said on Nov. 15 it would seek shareholder approval to change its corporate structure in order to unify its two classes of shares. The company will also shift its tax residence to the United Kingdom.Shell is currently incorporated in the UK but has Dutch tax residence and a dual-class share structure. It adopted that approach in 2005 after combining Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij and The Shell Transport and Trading Company under a single parent company.Shell said a unified share structure would allow it to compete more effectively by allowing for an acceleration of share buybacks, as there will be a larger single pool of ordinary shares that can be bought back.
Shell to ditch ‘Royal Dutch’ name and dual-share structure amid activist pressure
Royal Dutch Shell will dump its dual-share structure, change its name, and move its tax residence from the Netherlands to the UK.
The oil group argues the moves will boost its competitiveness.
It will now offer a single line of shares, which it considers simpler for investors to understand and value.
Alongside moving its tax residence, Shell will establish its CEO, CFO and board meetings in the country.
: They really are useless little or no customer service. If you do get to talk to someone they haven't got a clue how to solve things. Never been happy since first signing. I never thought I would admit this but they make TalkTalk seem good. I am now fighting against the cost of 39 po7nd because I haven't returned it. Once again they are lying saying they sent out a self addressed envelope for the return of the modem. Must have got lost in the post.Also my contract ended 8th January it is now 24th and they only just let know. As a company they are devious untrustworthy and morally corrupt. They DO NOT deserve even 1 customer
: 29th July 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd (Co. Reg. No.12776446) was incorporated with one ordinary share of £1 issued to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP (Co. Reg. No. OC430905) for a consideration of £1 23rd December 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd issued 290 shares of £1 each to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP in return for 290 shares of NSV Energy Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 06220464) representing a 100% interest in that entity. Following the transaction, Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP became the parent company of Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd. On the date of issue, the shares of NSV Energy Ltd were valued at $479.9 million resulting in the recognition of an investment of $479.9 million. On 1st November 2021, Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd declared a dividend of $36.4 million. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd entered into an agreement with its now subsidiary NSV Energy Ltd to pay the dividends directly to its parent's ultimate shareholders. For the period ended 31st December 2021 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd recorded a profit of $36.4 million arising from a dividend declared by its subsidiary in November 2021. Dividends of $36.4 million ($125,245.7 per share) were declared by Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd for the period ended 31st December 2021. Companies House records show for Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP under 'People' the following: Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg No.12154073) Mecuria Asset Holdings (Hong-Kong) Ltd A Private Ltd Company Mercuria Holdings (UK) Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 123718128) Companies House Records show that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Designated Member' and only 'Designated Member' for each of the above three companies. There is a 'circularity' here that does not seem correct. Where did the dividend go? Tailwind Investments Ltd Annual Report and Financial Statements period ended 31st December 2021 indicates Page 16 7. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP itself a 51% subsidiary of Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 12154073) . Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd is also the ultimate parent company and ultimate controlling party which prepares consolidated financial statements. Companies House Records show under 'Appointments' for Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Active LLP Designated Member'. Where did the $36.4 million dividend go?
: Thanks to Wrath for the clarification. I recall a lot of competent and committed people at BG Group, I also recall a toxic culture among those aspiring to climb the leadership “greasy pole” at all costs. If Mr Gould’s disparaging comments were not aimed at the latter group, it’s no surprise the meeting ended on a low note. These are the people that set targets, but if they can’t perceive how to deliver, someone (not them) has to be held to account. Seems like the pressure was being felt regarding Queensland Curtis LNG and the toxic ‘blame culture’ was in full-swing. I understood the cost overrun on this project was in the region of £3.3bn, which is surprising as their General Counsel at the time had written the highly regarded book ‘Project Finance’. It must have been left behind in TVP in preference for “back-end loading”.
: In response to Bogus Group's enquiry. The reference to Contractors being given 'equal' status to Employees refers to a speech given by Andrew Gould, then Executive Chairman of BG Group, at a Townhall meeting in the BG cafeteria in the Hutton Building, Thames Valley Business Park, in Q4 2014. At that Townhall meeting Mr Gould, during his speech to the assembled staff, made many references to 'you' (meaning BG Group Staff) failing to meet targets. (A Freudian slip, perhaps, given his ambition for a knighthood?). Eventually, a senior staff member in the audience corrected Mr Gould and said that he (the senior staff member) would feel happier if Mr Gould used the pronoun 'we' instead of 'you', at which point Mr Gould accepted the criticism and corrected himself. During that speech, Mr Gould also said that it was vital that BG Group meet their targets, especially first export of QC LNG coalbed methane to LNG, by year end. In order to achieve this he said that BG Group Contractors would have 'equal' status to BG Group Employees i.e. 'all hands to the pumps'. That meeting was recorded. Shell makes $70bn BG offer (oedigital.com) It was at the end of that meeting, that Sami Iskander, then Chief Operating Officer, stood up and to whoever would listen as they 'fled' the cafeteria with their ears burning made the statement that BG Group, the previous year (?) had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong.
: Would like to hear more on the thread of these interesting comments. Contractors were not always on ‘equal status’, particularly when it came to safety. In the BG Group 2010 annual report, Chapman’s statement that contractor safety would be a particular focus in 2011, seemed to infer that contractor performance was the issue, however, BG Group were ultimately responsible for those at the worksites, including contractors. In 2012, his “deep regret” of the unacceptable safety performance deterioration in 2011, would appear to indicate the “particular focus” was misconceived.
: Andrew Gould, former Executive Chairman of the failed BG Group, whose motives were questionable, would be well reminded that putting contractors on equal status as company employees in order to meet 'stretch' targets is in direct conflict with the 'Constitutions' of the various 'Bodies Corporate', despite alignment through 'bridging' documents.
: Technical safety across the board has suffered a similar mindset... "as long as it doesn't blow-up on my watch, it's <>." the new SEAM organization has made it abundantly clear, that safety has to be in "balance with business drivers of production and affordability." When it eventually goes boom, it will be blamed on TSE not the folks who are sweeping the concerns under the rug. the new emperors have no clothes!
: Subsurface Technical Staff at Shell who previously worked for BG Group would be well advised to remember that reserves should not be booked on subjective technical workflows and furthermore that both the technical workflows used in calculating reserves and their results should be reproducible by the Auditors. The BG philosophy of 'it's alright as long as the oil and/or gas is flowing out of the ground and we don't know where it is coming from' is irresponsible, short sighted and to the detriment of Shell's shareholders. This attitude should be dropped pronto!
: Internet down 3 times for a day at a time. Reported it never had any contact back or reason given. Useless company out at end of contract.
: RE: Nigerian oil export terminal had theft line into sea for 9 years Sometimes I think I have seen it all and then this comes along Nigeria is simply doomed with all the corruption. Take it from me, this is a major operation to fix. So the top brass must have been involved. Half or more of the population is scratching a living in miserable circumstances, there is no more rule of law and these gangsters lay a pipeline from a terminal and steal oil. Simply beyond what I can imagine.
: They cut off my 87 year old moms phone. This isn't just a phone for people of that age its and essential lifeline. After spending an hour on hold I eventually got through to the customer service department. They said a bill hadn't been sent because of billing issues. That's why it wasn't paid. So, I settled the bill over the phone. The following day the service was resumed and a demand for the money paid over the phone was sent to her house. How incompetent are these people. I spent another hour on hold. No reply to the call at all this time. No response to my emailed complaint. Obviously I now have to find another provider. But a lot of stress for my mother. DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE. They are the worst of the worst. Date of experience: 10 September 2022
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