A year and a half in the making and further delayed by the October-November U.S. government shutdown, Magnum Ice Cream Co. (TMICC) officially came into existence today (Dec. 8), as evidenced by its stock listing on the Euronext Amsterdam, London and New York stock exchanges.
“Today is a proud milestone for everyone associated with TMICC,” said CEO Peter ter Kulve. “We became the global leader in ice cream as part of the Unilever family. Now, as an independent listed company, we will be more agile, more focused and more ambitious than ever.”
It’s actually been operating independently of Unilever since July and was first hinted for demerger by the big multinational in March of 2024. The thinking was, despite its size, the ice cream business was underperforming as part of Unilever and perhaps not getting the marketing attention it deserved from so big and diverse a parent. Also, Unilever was going through a period where it was de-emphasizing its food holdings.
“The business was not growing fast enough. It needed to grow 1% to 2% faster and profitability was 400, 500 basis points too low,” ter Kulve told Bloomberg News.
The company is headquartered in Amsterdam and, as a part of Unilever, had 2024 sales of €8.3 billion ($8.6 billion as of 12/31/24). Unilever retains a 20% stake in Magnum.
It’s the world’s largest standalone ice-cream manufacturer, claiming a 21% global market share, almost double the 11% of its nearest rival, Froneri, according to Global Data. Froneri was a similar spinoff, leaving Nestle in 2016, although the Swiss giant retains a 50% ownership along with investment firm PAI Partners.
TMICC brands include Ben & Jerry’s Magnum, Breyers, Klondike, Talenti, Yasso and a handful of leading European brands. The U.S. is its biggest market and, despite the continuous quibbling between parent and U.S. subsidiary, Ben & Jerry’s is its biggest brand.
It’s 600 million-plus shares ended the day on NYSE at $12.97. All told, the company has a market value of about $7.8 billion.
“We assume a more settled price won’t be established until at least next week,” David Hayes, managing director of consumer staples research at Jefferies Financial Group Inc., told Bloomberg. The trading price was in the middle of the €10 to €15.5 range the bank published on Friday.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.