Unilever Overseas Holdings Limited has acquired 7.94% of the issued shares in Unilever Ghana Plc, according to a press release published by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
The statement indicates that the Free of Payment (FoP) transaction was executed in Ghana and involved the purchase of 4,962,500 ordinary shares in Unilever Ghana Plc which is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
This acquisition takes Unilever Overseas Holdings Limited’s current shareholding in Unilever Ghana Plc to 74.50%.
“The shares were previously held by Hongkong Shanghai Arisaig Africa Consumer Fund” an open-end fund incorporated in Mauritius. The Objective of the Fund is to achieve long-term capital growth. The Fund invests predominantly in equity and equity related securities (including warrants and convertible securities) issued by companies operating in Africa and the Middle East.
Climate Change Target
The Board of Unilever, London has announced the intention to put its climate transition action plan before shareholders and seek a non-binding advisory vote on the company’s ambitious emissions reduction targets and the plans to achieve them.
The plan will set out the company’s climate strategy to reduce emissions within its operations, through its value chain, as well as describe how the company is managing risks and meeting consumer needs connected with climate change and societal responses to it.
The targets Unilever has committed to include zero emissions from its operations and a 50% reduction in the average footprint from the life-cycle of its products by 2030. Additionally, earlier this year, Unilever announced a net zero emissions from sourcing to point of sale by 2039.
Commenting on these new projections, Alan Jope, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unilever intimated that “Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time and we are determined to play a leadership role in accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
“We have a wide ranging and ambitious set of climate commitments – but we know they are only as good as our delivery against them. That’s why we will be sharing more detail with our shareholders who are increasingly wanting to understand more about our strategy and plans.
“We welcome this increased transparency and, in the plan, we present, we will be clear both about the areas in our direct control where we have a high degree of certainty of our route to net zero, as well as more challenging areas across our value chain where systemic solutions will be required to achieve our targets.”
Unilever will share its climate transition action plan in the first quarter of 2021, ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on 5th May. The plan will be updated on a rolling basis and Unilever will seek an advisory vote every three years on any material changes made or proposed to the plan. The first year the company will report on its annual progress against the plan will be 2022.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies, making and selling around 400 brands in more than 190 countries.