Ahold is a public limited liability company registered in the Netherlands with a listing of shares (symbol: AH) on Euronext’s Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX). The common shares trade in the United States on the over-the-counter (OTC) market through www.pinksheets.com (symbol: AHONY) in the form of ADSs and are evidenced by ADRs.
The Depositary for the ADSs is The Bank of New York. Each ADS evidences the right to receive one common share deposited under a deposit agreement for the ADSs between Ahold and the Depositary dated January 20, 1998, as amended and restated as of January 29, 2004 and as further amended and restated as of October 29, 2007.
Delisting from NYSE
In September 2007, Ahold delisted its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), deregistered from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and terminated its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The decision to delist was taken as part of Ahold’s strategy to improve cost-effectiveness by reducing complexity without detracting from the integrity of its corporate governance and control processes. The benefits of maintaining a U.S. registration and a NYSE listing have declined over time. The majority of Ahold shares held by U.S. domiciled investors are acquired through Euronext Amsterdam and the average daily trading volume in the United States over the last 12 months has been less than five percent of the total worldwide volume.
Ahold expects to be able to fully satisfy its current and future capital requirements based on its financial standing, through a single listing on Euronext Amsterdam. Ahold’s Corporate Executive and Supervisory boards have also taken into account the regulatory, legal, reporting and governance complexity and costs associated with complying with these two registrations.