Peter ter Kulve, chief government officer of The Magnum Ice Cream Co., left, throughout the itemizing of The Magnum Ice Cream Co. at Euronext Amsterdam in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025.
Wiktor Dabkowski | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Magnum Ice Cream Firm debuted on the Amsterdam inventory trade on Monday, finishing its long-awaited spinoff from Unilever because it appears to be like to reinvigorate development amid challenges from health-conscious shoppers and high-profile public spats with Ben & Jerry’s.
The inventory opened at 12.20 euros, barely under its reference share worth of 12.80 euros. It was final buying and selling at 12.87 euros as of 10:30 a.m. London time, giving it a market capitalization of about 7.9 billion euros ($9.2 billion). Secondary listings are additionally going down in London and New York.
“We grew to become the worldwide chief in ice cream as a part of the Unilever household,” CEO Peter ter Kulve mentioned. “Now, as an unbiased listed firm, we will likely be extra agile, extra centered, and extra bold than ever.”
Unilever first introduced plans to spin off its ice cream unit, which incorporates Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Cornetto, in March final 12 months. The corporate is now the world’s largest standalone ice cream enterprise.
“The rationale that Unilever determined to spin off Magnum is often because they have not been capable of deal with it,” RBC’s James Edwardes Jones advised CNBC’s “Squawk Field Europe.”
“They have not had the bandwidth to accommodate Magnum on the similar time that they are actually pushing forward on their private care technique. And on account of that, the thought of the IPO of Magnum is that they are going to have a devoted administration capable of deal with prices, on capital expenditure and so forth, actually 100% centered on the ice cream enterprise.”
The buyer items big confronted stress from traders to overtake its sprawling enterprise. Its ice cream division, which generated 7.9 billion euros ($9.2 billion) in income in 2023, would carry out higher as a stand-alone enterprise.
Magum in September set a goal to develop income between 3% to five% within the medium time period from 2026.
“The truth that they have been run as an unbiased enterprise since July this 12 months has actually enhanced that capability to focus [on the ince cream business] and on that foundation, I feel we will see how they may stand up to most likely the underside finish of that vary, however the 3%+ to five%, that feels very, very bold,” mentioned Edwardes Jones.
Challenges forward
“There is a robust rising market angle, and it has a number one market share in its business, with some very highly effective manufacturers,” mentioned Russ Mould, funding director at AJ Bell. “On the draw back, you might have commodity publicity, you might have this governance situation with Ben & Jerry’s, which is a serious problem, and you’ve got a enterprise that is just about climate associated,” he advised CNBC’s “Europe Early Version” on Monday.
“Additionally, there may be the suspicion that, provided that it has been maybe run for money, and it is a pretty capital-intensive enterprise, there’ll must be some pretty substantial funding going ahead as effectively.”
The buyer staples class is predicted to face challenges because of health-conscious shoppers and the booming weight reduction drug enterprise pioneered by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Magnum has recommended that these components may value the corporate about half a proportion level per 12 months in income, Mould mentioned, including that administration might provide you with new codecs to counter the development.
Magnum Ice Cream now inherits a long-running public dispute with the founders of the virtually 50-year-old Ben & Jerry’s.
Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have turn out to be more and more outspoken relating to their dissatisfaction with the course of the model they bought to Unilever in 2000. In September this 12 months, they launched a marketing campaign to “Free Ben & Jerry’s” calling for it to turn out to be an “independently owned firm, with socially-aligned traders.”
“Ben & Jerry’s social mission has at all times been inseparable from the model itself, irrespective of how a lot Unilever / Magnum have tried to distance the 2,” Cohen mentioned Monday.
“[Magnum’s] makes an attempt to dismiss our marketing campaign present that they see the chance our vocal neighborhood poses to the remainder of their ice cream enterprise. This danger cannot be scooped out, and pretending a spin-off will make it disappear exhibits how deeply they misunderstand this model and its supporters.”
Chatting with the Monetary Occasions, Magnum’s CEO Peter ter Kulve referred to as on Ben & Jerry’s co-founders Cohen and Greenfield to “hand over to a brand new era.” Cohen responded by accusing Magnum of trying to silence the model’s social mission.
— CNBC’s Matthew Ward-Perkins contributed to this report.
