Thomson Reuters Corp. TRI-T plans to delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market and remain listed only on the Toronto and New York exchanges.
The board of directors of Thomson Reuters, one the world's largest providers of legal, tax and financial databases, is recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the change at meetings set for Aug. 7 in Toronto and London.
The holders of Thomson Reuters stock has changed, with British shareholders now constituting only 5 per cent of the combined shareholder base, Thomson Reuters chief executive officer Thomas Glocer said yesterday.
The market speculation is that there has been a rotation by British institutional shareholders out of Thomson Reuters PLC because they are less familiar with Thomson's professional businesses, and are "skittish" about Reuters' exposure to the hard-hit financial services industry, Mr. Glocer said in an interview.
With less demand for the British shares, the British stock has been trading at a "persistent" discount of about 10 per cent to its comparables in North America - down from an earlier 25 to 30 per cent - and that has been attracting Canadian and American investors, he said.
If shareholders approve the change, and the requisite court approval is obtained, it is expected unification will occur by the end of the third quarter of 2009.
After the proposed unification, Thomson Reuters PLC shareholders will have the same economic interest in Thomson Reuters as they do under the current dual-listed structure.
Thomson Reuters PLC shareholders will receive one share in Thomson Reuters Corp. for every PLC share held.
Holders of Thomson Reuters PLC American Depositary Shares (ADSs) will receive six Thomson Reuters Corp. common shares for each ADS held. Holders of Thomson Reuters Corp. common shares will continue to hold their existing shares.
The proposed unification should not have any tax consequences for shareholders or any impact on Thomson Reuters's businesses, strategy or employees, the company said.
In connection with unification, Thomson Reuters said it may repurchase the equivalent of up to $500-million (U.S.) of shares in one or more of its markets.
THOMSON REUTERS (TRI)
Close: $33.53, down 78¢
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