Ben & Jerry’s Goes Public: Unilever Spins Off Ice Cream Business

Unilever’s ice cream business, which includes well-known popular ice cream brands such as Ben&Jerry’s and Magnum, will be spun off into a separate company and listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange this year. Unilever announced today that the new company will also issue an IPO in London and New York, but the primary location will be in the Netherlands. The Unilever group itself is listed on these three markets, with its primary listing in London.

This decision has been met with disappointment in the United Kingdom, as many expected Unilever to primarily list its subsidiary in London, which now has to work on attracting new listings.

Last year, Unilever announced that it would separate the division as part of a comprehensive restructuring plan. It is worth noting that Unilever’s ice cream production generates over eight billion euros annually, and they have appointed Jean-François van Boxmeer, the chairman of Vodafone, as the head of this business. The separation of the company is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Although Unilever did not choose London for the primary listing, CEO Hein Schumacher emphasized that this is not a criticism of the London Stock Exchange, but rather that Amsterdam is the headquarters of their ice cream production, and the senior management of the company and the intellectual property of the brands are also located in that city.

He stated that the company provided assurances to the Dutch government in 2020 that the future spin-off, or subsidiary, would be listed in the Netherlands, and they wanted to honor that commitment.

– Discussions with stakeholders from the United Kingdom, whether from the government or others, have always been very constructive – Schumacher said, commenting on the disappointment in London. He added that the global center for ice cream research and development will remain in Great Britain, and the Wall ice cream factory in Gloucester will continue to operate.

Major Restructuring

– We are a company from the United Kingdom. We are very committed to the success of the United Kingdom – he said.

The Financial Times reported last month that Unilever was leaning towards multiple listings of its ice cream business, and that Nelson Peltz, an activist investor and board member of Unilever, advocated for a listing on the American stock exchange. The group has also been under pressure to maintain listings on its home markets in the UK and the Netherlands.

Namely, Unilever is currently in the midst of a comprehensive restructuring initiated by Schumacher, which includes the layoff of 7,500 jobs and the separation of the ice cream production into a separate company.

Schumacher stated in November that they would sell smaller and underperforming food brands, which would amount to about one billion pounds in revenue, potentially including everything from the plant-based food brand Vegetarian Butcher to brands like Pot Noodle, Marmite, and Colman’s.

The Group has forecast muted growth in the first half of 2025, and regarding the business results for 2024, sales grew by 4.2 percent, which is below expectations, while revenue increased by 1.9 percent to 60.8 billion euros. The company also announced a share buyback of 1.5 billion euros.

David Hayes, an analyst at Jefferies, stated that he expects poorer results for Unilever’s shares due to weak prospects, adding that every division missed its target in the fourth quarter of the year.

In comparison, Unilever’s competitor Nestlé reported better-than-expected sales growth despite a surge in cocoa and coffee prices, resulting in a more than six percent increase in the company’s shares during morning trading in Switzerland.