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Daily Telegraph: Resistance pays off for Shell rebels: "Rebel Shell shareholders who refused to accept the terms of the the oil company's restructuring, because it left them with big tax bills, look to have been rewarded for their resistance.": "More than 1,000 British shareholders who accepted the terms are now considering suing Shell to claw back the money to pay the tax bill.": Saturday 5 November 2005

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 05/11/2005)

Rebel Shell shareholders who refused to accept the terms of the the oil company's restructuring, because it left them with big tax bills, look to have been rewarded for their resistance.

UK investors in Royal Dutch Petroleum are being offered €52.21 for every share held, three per cent more than the share price in mid-July just before the merger of Royal Petroleum and Shell Transport & Trading was agreed.

Shell, which has already won the support of 98.5 per cent of holders in Royal Dutch Petroleum, made the offer to the remaining 1.5 per cent in a letter this week. The new price reflects the average price between July and October.

UK holders are allowed to receive a loan note under the terms of the deal, rather than cash, to avoid having to pay capital gains tax.

A Shell spokesman said: "We believe that the merger consideration is not less than the price that would have been determined by a Dutch court in a squeeze-out procedure if a squeeze-out were being implemented at this point in time."

Shell's plans to create a £130billion giant called Royal Dutch Shell were heavily criticised by The Daily Telegraph for leaving 3,000 UK holders in Royal Dutch Petroleum with a £77 million capital gains tax bill earlier this week.

More than 1,000 British shareholders who accepted the terms are now considering suing Shell to claw back the money to pay the tax bill.

1 November 2005: Investors consider suing Shell
 

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