The Amsterdam commercial court has set up a panel to probe Unilever's treatment of its preference shares that could force the Anglo-Dutch food-to-detergents group to pay out to disgruntled investors. The court said on Friday the panel, consisting of three members, was complete. It did not give details on when it is expected to report. The court ordered the probe on December 21.

In March, Unilever said it planned to convert the 1999 Dutch cumulative preference shares into ordinary stock, but some holders said the company had given the impression in the past that it would buy them back for 6.58 euros per share.

Analysts have estimated that a cash payment could cost Unilever about 1.4 billion euros ($1.9 billion), while its planned share conversion was worth 1 billion.

Unilever has previously said it was "fully co-operating" with the court.

Copyright Reuters, 2005