Unilever’s ice-cream split pits London against Amsterdam for market listing
Unilever kicked off a duel between London and Amsterdam for a potential €17bn listing of its ice-cream unit, nearly four years after the Netherlands lost out to Britain for the consumer goods conglomerate's headquarters.
While the London-listed company has not decided where the owner of the HB, Walls, Ben & Jerry's and Magnum brands would hold its main listing, chief executive officer Hein Schumacher pointed out that the division is currently run from Rotterdam and is in the process of moving to a new head office in Amsterdam.
A Dutch listing would be a blow to London's capital markets after a string of major companies looked to switch listings to rival financial centres, prompting UK politicians and regulators to suggest reforms to improve the City's competitiveness. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has held talks with fast-fashion label Shein about a possible flotation, Bloomberg reported in February, after British chip-maker Arm Holdings snubbed London for New York last year.
"Where eventually the listing will take place as well as its head office, that's something that we're going to have to determine in the next 18 months," Mr Schumacher said. "We are open to options."
Analysts at Barclays touted a potential spin-off of the ice-cream division earlier this year, which they said could be worth close to €17bn.
Unilever made a botched attempt in 2018 to switch to a single legal entity in the Netherlands, having operated under a dual-leadership system for nearly 90 years. Investors in the City of London rebelled against the plan and shortly afterward Paul Polman stood down as chief executive officer.
Unilever went ahead with plans to simplify its structure in 2020, but chose the UK as its official base. The Dutch government "asked for reassurance that if Unilever should ever choose to list the Foods & Refreshment Division as an independent company, it would be incorporated and listed in The Netherlands," Unilever said at the time, adding that it was "comfortable to make these commitments."
In 2022, the division was split into two parts, nutrition and ice cream.
The ice cream division had sales of €7.9 billion in 2023.
Reporting On:independent.ie