Unilever eyes ice cream float in Amsterdam

The stock market flotation for Unilever’s ice cream division is part of a restructuring move – Copyright AFP/File Fabrice COFFRINI

British consumer goods giant Unilever is mulling an Amsterdam stock market flotation for its ice cream division, whose top-selling products include Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, according to CEO Hein Schumacher.

Unilever had announced its intention to spin off its ice cream arm one week ago, in a likely demerger set to contribute to thousands of job losses.

“The most likely route (for separation) is to split off with a separate stock exchange listing and its own head office,” Schumacher told Dutch television show Buitenhof on Sunday, in comments confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

“As a company, we are now listed in London, the largest market for ice cream is the United States and we currently run the ice cream division from the Netherlands.”

He added that, if Unilever does indeed go ahead and list its ice cream business, “then the Netherlands has a good chance”. 

Unilever announced plans to create a standalone ice cream company last week as part of a major overhaul that will “impact” about 7,500 mainly office-based jobs worldwide and save 800 million euros ($870 million) over the next three years. The group employs about 128,000 worldwide.