21/12/2004 : In a decision today the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal has decided to start an inquiry with regard to the 5 euro cents preference shares in Unilever N.V.
"Unilever N.V. is currently studying the decision. We will fully cooperate with the inquiry", said Mr. J. van der Bijl, secretary of Unilever N.V.
Unilever N.V. issued the preference shares in 1999 as a tax-friendly alternative to a cash dividend. In March 2004 Unilever N.V. published the proposed decision to convert these preference shares into ordinary Unilever N.V. shares in the first quarter of 2005. A number of holders of these preference shares raised objections to this and asked the Enterprise Chamber to institute an inquiry. An additional request to forbid the conversion was rejected by the Enterprise Chamber.
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