MF Global moves official home from Bermuda to Delaware, citing ‘regulatory landscape’
By APMonday, January 4, 2010
MF Global moves corporate domicile to Delaware
NEW YORK — Futures and options broker MF Global Ltd. said Monday it has changed its corporate domicile to Delaware from Bermuda.
MF Global, which is also changing its name to MF Global Holdings Ltd., said in a statement that it changed its official residence to the U.S. from the U.K. territory of Bermuda to “respond to the current and anticipated regulatory landscape.”
The company said the move also supports its plan to diversify its business within the financial services industry.
Spokeswoman Tiffany Galvin could not supply any further details.
The move is unusual, said Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at University of Delaware.
Forming a company in Bermuda used to offer certain tax benefits, but that changed last year, prompting several companies to move their official home base to countries including Switzerland and Ireland. For example, Ingersoll-Rand PLC, which makes air conditioning systems and other products, moved its official headquarters to Ireland, and the manufacturer Tyco International Ltd. is now based in Switzerland.
Elson said U.S.-incorporated companies are bound by stronger shareholder protection measures.
