Report: Unilever Finding Weak Private-Equity Interest for Ice Cream Business

Nov. 20, 2024

Although a bidder may still emerge, The Financial Times is reporting that Unilever will likely spin the ice cream business off into its own company rather than sell to an investment firm.

Andy Hanacek

According to a report published today in The Financial Times, Unilever is no longer planning to sell its ice cream business to private equity, looking instead to spin the unit off into its own separate business. The ice cream business unit, which includes Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum’s brands among others, has been on the sales block since March 2024, when it announced the spinoff of the division.

Yet, FT reports that Unilever has been unable to drum up private-equity interest for the business thus far, due to the size of the business and complicated ice cream supply chain. The report notes that a bidder could emerge at any time, but Unilever is focusing more effort on a split.

When the news broke in March, the ice cream unit accounted for about 16% of Unilever’s global sales, and FT’s sources said the company could get anywhere from $10 billion to $16 billion for the business.

That said, Unilever also has come under fire from its own Ben & Jerry’s brand this past week, with the ice cream brand filing a lawsuit against its parent company for allegedly silencing Ben & Jerry’s independent board from speaking out on the Israeli-Palestinian war as many as four times in the past year.

Unilever has said previously that the separation of the business would be completed by the end of 2025, and that the company would remain open to any proposals, looking for what’s best for the shareholders. Unilever did not comment to FT for its story this time, however.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.