<figure id="attachment_2985202" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2985202" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-2985202 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/89f0b54d-5681382_1600x1000_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2985202" class="wp-caption-text">Magnum, which will command more than a fifth of the US$87 billion global ice cream market, is betting on the allure of indulgent snacks. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
LONDON: Magnum Ice Cream Company traded at €12.96 per share in its Amsterdam debut today, implying a market capitalisation of €7.93 billion (US$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 just below Magnum&#8217;s 2024 revenue of €7.9 billion and according to research firm Morningstar, roughly eight times its expected 2025 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation.
Magnum &#8211; now the world&#8217;s largest standalone ice cream business, home to brands including Wall&#8217;s and Cornetto &#8211; is also listing in London and New York today.
Magnum under pressure from index funds, no dividend in 2026
Ahead of the publication of Magnum&#8217;s prospectus, analysts at Barclays predicted the company would fetch an equity value of 10.1 billion to €10.8 billion and a share price above €20 per share.
The reference price was set at €12.8 per share.
Magnum rival Froneri, a joint venture between PAI Partners and Nestle, secured investment in October that valued the company at €15 billion.
Froneri&#8217;s market share is around 11%, according to Magnum&#8217;s prospectus, compared with 21% for Magnum.
&#8220;I think that with setting the reference price low, they made the stock attractive for new investors,&#8221; 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 today, 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 today.
Company hits milestone, set to be more agile, says CEO
Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve said today the company hit a &#8220;proud milestone&#8221; and would be &#8220;more agile, more focused, and more ambitious than ever&#8221; as an independent listed company.
Magnum, which will command more than a fifth of the US$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 US President Donald Trump is pushing a &#8216;Make America Healthy Again&#8217; campaign.
With Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s, Magnum will inherit a relationship that has soured in the past few years.
Magnum said on Tuesday that the Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s Foundation, a US-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 &amp; Jerry&#8217;s annual revenue of €1.1 billion (US$1.28 billion) accounts for almost 14% of Magnum&#8217;s global turnover, compared to just 1.8% of Unilever.

MatchPoint Times

Magnum ice cream valued at US$9.2bil in Amsterdam listing

Magnum, now the world’s largest standalone ice cream business and home to brands including Wall’s and Cornetto, is also listing in London and New York.

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