“Unilever to float ice cream division”

Because a lack of prospective buyers, Unilever has put the plan to sell its ice cream division back in the freezer. The multinational is now reportedly aiming for a separate stock market listing for the division.

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There is very little interest to buy the ice cream division outright, the Financial Times reports, despite its strong brands like Magnum, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s. The main objections would be the large size (with an estimated value of up to fifteen billion euros) and the complex supply chain. The newspaper also points to the outspoken political views of the Ben & Jerry’s brand.

Insiders have told the newspaper that Unilever would therefore be changing tactics, and would now prefer to list the division as a separate company on the stock exchange – a rumour that the multinational would not confirm. The ice division spin-off is part of a larger restructuring plan in which CEO Hein Schumacher wants to save 800 million euros in costs and cut 7,500 jobs worldwide.

The focus on the ice cream division is rather odd, as it is performing quite well: in the third quarter, sales rose 9.8 %, well above the 4.3 % growth expected by analysts. According to observers, the election of Donald Trump could have a positive impact on Unilever’s plan to take its ice cream division public, as the stock market environment would become more favourable.