Royal Dutch Shell Plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, has announced at the earlier hours of Monday, November 15, 2021, a potential change of name by taking out Royal Dutch from its current official name.
The company, which has long faced investor questions about its dual structure and was recently hit by a Dutch court order over its climate targets, intends to drop “Royal Dutch” from its name, which has been part of its identity since 1907.
The resolution for the changes would be discussed on December 10, 2021 at Rotterdam Ahoy, Ahoyweg 10, 3084 BA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The name Shell can be traced back to the seashells imported from the Far East by Marcus Samuel senior in the late nineteenth century. When Marcus junior and Samuel, his sons, were looking for a name for the kerosene they were exporting to Asia, they chose Shell.
As kerosene sales grew to dominate the company’s revenue, the name was adopted for the new import-export company established in 1897 – the Shell Transport and Trading company.
When the company merged with Royal Dutch to form the Royal Dutch Shell Group in 1907, the Shell name took a back seat for a short time, but the newly formed business quickly became known as Shell for short.
According to the report released by the company on Monday, Carrying the Royal designation has been a source of immense pride and honour for Shell for more than 130 years.
However, the company anticipates it will no longer meet the conditions for using the designation following the proposed change. Therefore, subject to shareholder approval of the resolution, the Board expects to change the company’s name from Royal Dutch Shell plc. to Shell plc.
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The plan to end its long-held, complex dual structure was intended to make it easier for investors to value the company, help it facilitate returns to shareholders and make it simpler to amend its portfolio of assets.
“The simplification will normalise our share structure under the tax and legal jurisdictions of a single country and make us more competitive. As a result, Shell will be better positioned to seize opportunities and play a leading role in the energy transition. Shell’s Board unanimously recommends shareholders vote in favour of the proposed resolution,” Andrew Mackenzie, former CEO of BHP Billiton and Chair of Royal Dutch Shell Plc., said.
However, the plan to move its headquarters from the Netherlands to London is to consolidate its dual British and Dutch structure, a historic shift that the oil giant claims will aid in its transition to low-carbon energy.
Amidst this development, shareholders will continue to hold the same legal, ownership, voting and capital distribution rights in Shell. Shares will continue to be listed in Amsterdam, London and New York (through the American Depositary Shares programme), with FTSE UK index inclusion. It is fully expected AEX index inclusion will be maintained. Shell’s corporate governance structure will remain unchanged.
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