Seagate’s HQs Moving to Dublin, Ireland

In a SEC filing, Seagate Seagate Technology LLC wrote:

After extensive research and consultation with our advisors, we have decided to move our place of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to Ireland. While our tenure in the Cayman Islands has served us and our shareholders well, there are compelling reasons that support a move to Ireland at this time. We are constantly evaluating ways to ensure that we are operating as efficiently as possible. Among other reasons, we’re making this change now because legislative and regulatory bodies in various jurisdictions, including the U.S., have actively considered proposals and/or introduced legislation that, if enacted, could increase our tax burden if we remained incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

After considering various factors and reviewing a number of different countries, our board of directors determined that changing the jurisdiction of incorporation of the parent company of Seagate to Ireland is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and will best help us to accomplish our objectives. We will have a home in a well-developed corporate, legal and regulatory environment which has a long history of international investments as well as an extensive network of tax treaties that we expect will help minimize our tax burden in the future. It’s important to note that nearly 90% of Seagate’s employees are outside the U.S., the vast majority of our operating assets are outside the U.S. and nearly 75% of our revenue is generated outside the U.S. For you, our shareholders, much will remain unchanged following the incorporation in Ireland. There will be some differences in your shareholder rights, given the inherent differences in the laws between the Cayman Islands and Ireland.