Unilever shares fell in early trade on Monday after it completed the spin-out of The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which began trading in London and Amsterdam.
Shares in The Magnum Ice Cream Company will also begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange later today.
Unilever shares were down around 3.8% at the time of writing.
It was a muted but marginally positive start to trading for The Magnum Ice Cream Company, whose shares were priced at 12.20 Euros in the IPO and were trading higher at 12.80 at the time of writing. Shares were trading at around 1,135p in London.
The IPO valued the company at around 2.14 billion Euros.
“TMICC has already been functioning as a standalone business since 1 July 2025, so the trading of its shares shouldn’t bring any major disruption to operations,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The separation makes TMICC the largest ice cream business in the world, with iconic brands like Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Cornetto in its portfolio. It’s already scooped up a 21% share of global ice cream sales, nearly double that of its largest competitor, Froneri. The global ice cream market is forecast to grow by 3-4% annually until at least 2029. TMICC is targeting growth slightly ahead of this pace, up to 5% annually, driven by increased marketing investment, improved distribution channels and market share gains.
“TMICC is already free cash flow positive and profitable in its own right. The balance sheet is in decent shape, but dividends are off the cards until 2027 as the group finds its footing as a standalone business. That could cause some downward pressure on the share price in the near term, as dividend-focussed investment funds that hold Unilever will be handed TMICC shares, the latter of which they may be forced to sell to abide by their investment mandate.”