The world’s biggest ice cream maker hopes for a sweet future

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Enthusiasts of ice cream brands such as Magnum, Cornetto, Carte d’Or, Ben & Jerry’s, Bryers and Wall’s can now directly own shares in them following Monday’s split of Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) from former parent company Unilever.

In one of the splashiest stock market events of 2025, TMIC shares will debut on Euronext in Amsterdam, with secondary listings also taking place in London and New York, with chief executive Peter ter Kulve set to ring the opening bell today. (He also appears live on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street at 3pm GMT/10am ET.)

The listing, Euronext’s biggest this year, values ​​TMIC, the world’s largest ice cream maker, at 7.8 billion euros ($9.1 billion).

But what are the prospects for the newly separated business and Unilever itself?

There are no easy answers to either question.

The first is TMIC, whose stock price outlook cannot even be predicted in the short term. The company itself has warned that because it is not included in indexes such as the FTSE 100, there could be early selling by tracker funds that cannot own the stock. The lack of a dividend in 2026 may also deter some investors.

Unilever and its bank advisors have tried to address this problem by setting a low base price for TMICC shares, which could prompt some bargain hunters to intervene. And it’s cheap: Including debt, TMICC is worth about the same as Fronelli, the next biggest player in the $87 billion global ice cream market, a UK-based joint venture between Nestlé and French private equity firm PAI Partners. Its global market share is 11%, compared to 21% for TMIC.

There are also headwinds regarding the deal’s prospects, the most obvious being the growing popularity of weight loss drugs.

Ter Kulve downplayed these risks ahead of the split, arguing that TMIC has evolved its portfolio over the years to include more products with lower carbohydrates, higher protein levels, and controlled content. Examples include high-protein Breyers CarbSmart ice cream and Ben & Jerry’s transition from pint cartons to stick ice cream.

The CEO is targeting medium-term annual organic sales growth of 3% to 5%, compared with the long-term average of 3% achieved under Unilever.

There may also be opportunities for TMIC to increase investment in its supply chain, which has little overlap with Unilever’s other businesses and could otherwise be neglected, as a more focused business. This also applies to the broader investment story.

Chris Beckett, consumer staples analyst at asset manager Quilter Cheviot, said: “While Magnum has not grown under Unilever’s ownership, there is hope that a revitalized management team will produce better results, albeit largely made up of former Unilever employees.”

There is another potential complication on Tel Kulbe’s side. Ben & Jerry’s, which was acquired from founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in April 2000, has been increasingly troubled.

In 2021, they temporarily blocked Unilever from selling the product in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but subsequent backlash led Unilever to sell the brand’s Israeli division to a local licensee. Greenfield left the business in September, and TMIC said last month that Anuradha Mittal, Ben & Jerry’s independent board chairman, “no longer meets the criteria” to take over, without providing further details.

Ter Kulve told the Financial Times on Monday, in typical Dutch fashion, that the pair “must pass on to a new generation.”

He warned that TMICC may not be able to continue donating to Ben & Jerry’s Charitable Foundation unless corporate governance deficiencies found in a recent audit are resolved.

The dispute is another reason why Unilever is willing to sell its stake in TMIC. Even though TMIC currently holds a 19.9% ​​stake and plans to sell it over the next five years, its earnings are low compared to other businesses.

Re-evaluation after a long time?

But the bigger question is whether Unilever’s restructuring will lead to a reassessment by the market. I have been covering the fate of this company for over 30 years and have witnessed countless attempts to achieve this.

In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s, SlimFast (sold) and Best Foods were acquired, bringing the Hellmann’s brand to Unilever. the ill-fated $1 billion acquisition of Dollar Shave Club in 2016; In 2019, it acquired healthy snack brand Graze, which was later sold again.

What came to light was Unilever’s specialty chemicals business, which was sold to ICI in 1997 for £5 billion ($6.66 billion). The spreads business, which includes the Flora brand, was sold to KKR for €6.7bn in 2017, and more recently Unilever’s tea business, which owns iconic brands such as PG Tips and Liptons, was sold to private equity firm CVC for £3.8bn in 2021.

Not to mention a number of smaller disposals, including Ambrosia Cream Rice and Brown & Polson Corn Flour, which were sold to Premier Foods in 2003, and Birdseye Frozen Food, which was shipped to Permira in 2006.

During that time, a number of strategic reviews have taken place.

Terry Smith, whose investment firm Fundsmith is one of Unilever’s top 10 shareholders, said last year that it included the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010, Connected 4 Growth in 2016 and the Unilever Compass Strategy for Sustainable Growth in 2022.

But none was more important than the move five years ago to end a 90-year agreement between the two parent companies, Unilever of the UK and Unilever of the Netherlands, and move to a single company structure that would give the company more flexibility.

The division of TMIC feels almost equally fundamental.

The move will sharply improve the quality of Unilever’s earnings and allow it to focus more on its 20 or so brands, which account for three-quarters of its annual sales. More than a dozen of these companies, including Dove, Omo and Domestos, have annual sales of more than 1 billion euros.

Fernando Fernandez, the new CEO and clearly in a hurry, said on LinkedIn on Monday: “For Unilever, this milestone allows us to continue to focus on building a portfolio of power brands with unrivaled geographic footprint and excellent growth prospects.”

Notably, only two of these billion euro brands are in the food sector: Knorr and Hellmann’s. Other food brands, including Marmite, Coleman’s Mustard and Bovril, are said to be already considering joining the market. Even if the TMIC spin-off doesn’t lead to a reappraisal, it wouldn’t be surprising if Unilever’s entire food division becomes a distant memory and it becomes a pure beauty and well-being, personal care and home care business.

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— Katrina Bishop

need to know

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— Yeo Boon Ping, Katrina Bishop

Quote of the week

at the market

London-listed stocks reversed this week; FTSE100 It has fallen 0.62% since last Wednesday. The index ended 0.03% lower at 9,642.01 on Tuesday, retreating from the milestone of 10,000 points.

WPP shares rose 6.3% on Tuesday after the advertising and communications giant signed a lucrative contract to run the UK government’s advertising strategy. The four-year deal, reportedly worth up to 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion), will see WPP-owned agency Wavemaker oversee a wide range of government media and advertising campaigns.

meanwhile, unilever was one of the major gainers on the FTSE on Tuesday, rising 3.6% as the spin-off of the company’s ice cream division. magnum ice cream company It was listed on the London, New York and Amsterdam stock exchanges on Monday.

of british pound It traded at $1.3296 on Tuesday, compared to $1.3352 last Wednesday.

Yield on UK government benchmark 10 year bond Gilt, also known as gilt, rose from 4.480% to 4.511% during the same period.

— Hugh Leask

very soon

12 December: UK GDP monthly forecast and trade data for October.
December 15: Rightmove House Price Index for December
December 16: October unemployment rate data

— Katrina Bishop