Unilever picks Amsterdam for ice-cream unit primary listing
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Unilever has chosen Amsterdam as its primary listing, ahead of secondary listings in London and New York, for its ice-cream business spinoff.
The numbers: The listing announcement was made alongside the group’s full-year earnings, which showed sales growth at 4.3%, falling behind forecasts and predicted soft growth for the beginning of 2025. Unilever also announced a €1.5 billion ($2.49 billion) share buyback.
The context: Unilever announced plans to spin off its ice-cream business and cut thousands of jobs in March 2024, in efforts to pare back costs and drive performance. The division owns brands including Magnum, Cornetto, Walls and Ben & Jerry’s, generating over €8 billion in annual revenue.
The company chose Amsterdam for its primary listing as the unit’s headquarters and management are based in the capital, but the decision has disappointed UK officials as the London Stock Exchange struggles to attract major listings. Activist investor and Unilever board member, Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Fund Management holds a stake in Unilever, had been pressuring the company to pursue its primary listing across the pond.
The separation and listing is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Thomson Reuters is another institution announcing a listing location shakeup, moving its US stock listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. It expects to start trading on the Nasdaq from 25 February.
The sources: Financial Times, Unilever 2024 full year results, Reuters
