Att ComSec Ake holders, page-4

Yes, I was told something like that by Commsec. And I was told the same by Nabtrade.

I am sure now most brokers used by retail or small shareholders cannot provide the service for holding US shares. I know now that many people don't realise that the "US shares" they can buy and sell are actually only the depositary interest of the shares. The shares are held by the retailer.

The difficulty (or perhaps the impossibility) of electing to have the NewCo shares instead of CDIs is actually hinted in the Scheme Booklet page 181:

"The benefits expected of the dual listing on the NYSE and ASX, including increased liquidity, visibility among investors and access to investors who may be able to hold listed stocks in Australia but not the US, and vice versa, may not be realised or, if realised, may not be sustained, and the costs associated with a dual listing may ultimately outweigh the anticipated benefits." (my emphasis)

Saying "access to investors who may be able to hold listed stocks in Australia but not the US, and vice versa" is to say that we in Australia cannot hold listed stocks in the US. That is why they provide CDI.

I don't know if it can be called misleading when they say in the Booklet we can choose to convert one to the other whenever we want when they should have known that most ordinary shareholders don't have the resources to access the necessary service to do it.

Holding CDIs, which can be terminated anytime by the NewCo (read the quotation above: "may not be sustained, and the costs associated with a dual listing may ultimately outweigh the anticipated benefits") will put us who plan to hold long term in a precarious position, to say the least.