Unilever simplifies share structure after purchasing rights

19th May 2014 13:00

Consumer goods giant Unilever has purchased the rights left in family trusts by William Hesketh Lever, which in 2038 will be convertible into just under 70.88m shares.The rights were acquired for £715m, equal to 1,000p a share, which represents a discount of 63% to the closing share price on May 16th.The transaction will enhance core earnings per share by 2% on a full-year basis, because the share count has been reduced by 2.4%. The company's Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Marc Huët, said: "I am very pleased that we have concluded this agreement with the trusts. It is good for all our shareholders. "It is another step in the simplification of Unilever's capital structure, making Unilever easier to understand, and eliminating ahead of time the burden of a significant dilution of shareholders' interests." Unilever's share price rose 1.26% to 2,738p by 13:13 on Monday. NR