Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 6-K filing by Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) was submitted on March 16, 2010. The document serves as a notification of major interests in shares pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It details a change in voting rights held by Legal & General Group Plc and its subsidiaries.
Key Financial Metrics
This filing does not contain financial performance data such as revenue, profit, cash flow, margins, debt, or liquidity. The document is strictly a regulatory notification regarding shareholding thresholds.
Material Changes
The material change reported is the acquisition of voting rights by Legal & General Group Plc (Group) and its subsidiaries, causing them to cross the 5% ownership threshold in Shell's B shares.
- Previous Position: Below 5% (as of February 17, 2010).
- Transaction Date: March 11, 2010.
- Notification Date: March 12, 2010.
- Resulting Position: 134,917,430 shares representing exactly 5.00% of total voting rights.
- Breakdown: Direct voting rights of 121,963,156 (4.52%) and indirect voting rights of 12,954,274 (0.48%).
Guidance, Outlook, and Risks
The filing contains no management commentary, financial guidance, outlook, or discussion of risks and contingencies related to Shell's operations. The only risk factor implied is the regulatory requirement to disclose the crossing of the 5% voting rights threshold.
Investor Verification Points
- Verify the total voting rights base used for the calculation (2,695,808,103 shares).
- Confirm the specific entities within the Legal & General Group holding the shares (including Legal & General Assurance (Pensions Management) Limited).
- Note that no qualifying financial instruments or instruments with similar economic effects were reported as part of this specific threshold crossing.