By Alexander Marrow and Dimitri Rhodes
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Magnum Ice Cream Company traded at 12.96 euros per share in its Amsterdam debut on Monday, implying a market capitalisation of 7.93 billion euros ($9.24 billion), as it finalised a long-awaited spinoff from Unilever.
Unilever is shedding a business unit whose cold supply chain demands more complex operations than its other food brands, let alone personal care products like Dove soap and Axe deodorant. Magnum, meanwhile, is counting on a pure focus on ice cream to improve productivity.
With its shares not immediately eligible for inclusion in major indices such as the FTSE, Magnum had warned its stock may face early downward pressure.
The initial market valuation was below Magnum’s 2024 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of 7.9 billion euros.
Magnum – now the world’s largest standalone ice cream business, home to brands including Wall’s and Cornetto – is also listing in London and New York on Monday.
MAGNUM UNDER PRESSURE FROM INDEX FUNDS, NO DIVIDEND IN 2026
Ahead of the publication of Magnum’s prospectus, analysts at Barclays predicted the company would fetch an equity value of 10.1 billion to 10.8 billion euros and a share price above 20 euros per share. The reference price was set at 12.8 euros per share.
Magnum rival Froneri, a joint venture between PAI Partners and Nestle, secured investment in October that valued the company at 15 billion euros. Froneri’s market share is around 11%, according to Magnum’s prospectus, compared with 21% for Magnum.
“I think that with setting the reference price low, they made the stock attractive for new investors,” Fernand de Boer of investment bank Degroof Petercam told Reuters, adding that the price also avoided the risk of a big drop caused by index investor selling.
Limited demand may have also been a factor, Degroof Petercam said in a note, while substantial separation costs from Unilever and the fact there will be no dividend in 2026 could be adding short-term pressure.
Unilever shares were the biggest decliner on the STOXX 600 on Monday, according to LSEG data, falling around 4%, with lost Magnum earnings causing temporary volatility. Unilever is retaining a 19.9% stake in the business but plans to exit within five years. It will announce the share consolidation ratio later on Monday.
COMPANY HITS MILESTONE, SET TO BE MORE AGILE, CEO SAYS
Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve said on Monday the company hit a “proud milestone” and would be “more agile, more focused, and more ambitious than ever” as an independent listed company.
Magnum, which will command more than a fifth of the $87 billion global ice cream market, is betting on the allure of indulgent snacks.
The listing tests investor appetite for a sugar-heavy product at a time when GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have shaken up consumer trends and U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing a ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign.
With Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum will inherit a relationship that has soured in the past few years. Magnum said on Tuesday that the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, a U.S.-based charitable group funded by the brand, must address deficiencies in financial controls and governance if it is to maintain full funding.
It is an issue that affects Magnum acutely. Ben & Jerry’s annual revenue of 1.1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) accounts for almost 14% of Magnum’s global turnover, compared to just 1.8% of Unilever.
($1 = 0.8579 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Dimitri Rhodes; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Joe Bavier)
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