Unilever

Introduction: Unilever (Euronext: UNA, LSE: ULVR) is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company measured by 2011 revenues (after Procter & Gamble and Nestlé) and the world's largest maker of ice cream.

Unilever owns over 400 brands, amongst the largest selling of which are Aviance, Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heartbrand, Hellmann's, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure, Sunsilk, Toni & Guy, TRESemmé, VO5, Wall's and Wish-Bone. It is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N.V., based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever PLC, based in London, United Kingdom. Both companies have the same directors and they operate as a single business.

Unilever was founded in 1930 by the merger of the British soapmaker Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of Chesebrough-Ponds (in 1987); Best Foods, Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast (in 2000); and Alberto-Culver (in 2010).

Unilever PLC has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of £27.3 billion as of 23 December 2011, the 18th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.[6] Unilever N.V. has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX index. Both Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V. have secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange.