Reuters trustees to continue after de-listing

Concern had been raised that the Founders Share directors, known as trustees, would lose their power.

“There is a very interesting and immensely important statement in the management information circular about the changing share structure of Thomson Reuters,” Michael Reupke, former editor-in-chief and general manager, said.

“That statement is: ‘Thomson Reuters will seek to redeem and cancel the Reuters Founders share in the capital of Thomson Reuters PLC.’ That share is the only tool the directors of the Founders Share Company, whom we used to refer to as the trustees, have to do anything whatever,” he wrote in a letter to The Baron.

“I hope I can set a predecessor's mind at ease,” Schlesinger responded. “When Thomson Reuters was created, it was created as a dual listed company. Thomson Reuters Corp is domiciled in Toronto and Thomson Reuters PLC has been in London. There has been one Reuters Founders Share in each of the two companies. Obviously if one of the two companies in the dual structure goes away so too will its founders share, but the other remains. I can assure all that from my perspective as Editor-in-Chief, the current Reuters Founders Share Company directors take a vigorous and active interest in the company and in editorial. That interest and engagement has, if anything, increased in the months before and after the consummation of the deal, particularly if I compare it to, say, a decade earlier.”

Shareholder meetings on unifying Thomson Reuters’ dual-listed company structure are scheduled to take place in Toronto and London on 7 August.

CEO Tom Glocer said last month the company’s decision to end its stock exchange listing in London and on NASDAQ in New York would not affect the operations, customers, strategy or financial position of the business.

“Unification would benefit shareholders by creating a single deep, global pool of liquidity and a simpler, more transparent capital structure,” he told staff.

“Our shares are currently listed on four different stock exchanges [London, New York, NASDAQ and Toronto], which has fragmented the trading in our shares and deterred certain large global investors from buying our shares. Unification would also reduce costs and complexity across the company.

“Our commitment to customers, employees and other stakeholders in London, the United Kingdom and Europe is unchanged by where we list our shares. London is a vital global capital for the markets we serve and home to more than 5,000 of our employees.

“The Founders Share Company has indicated it will support unification as this will in no way diminish our adherence to the Reuters Trust Principles.” ■