Linklaters and Skadden have advised on a $9.2bn deal that has seen The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) spun off from Unilever as an independent entity.
TMICC is now listed on the London, New York, and Amsterdam stock exchanges, with the Dutch listing valued at €7.93bn ($9.2bn) when it debuted today, with stocks trading at €12.20 per share.
This valuation makes TMICC the world’s largest ice cream company, with full ownership of brands including Magnum, Ben and Jerrys, Walls and Cornetto.
Linklaters worked with Unilever as it set up the TMICC business, and throughout the separation and demerger process before it was publicly listed this morning (8 December).
Corporate partner Charlie Turner said: ‘The separation was two years in the making: creating a new company, the world’s largest ice cream company, from the bottom up. This required legal and operational separation from Unilever across 80 countries. It was an enormous and challenging undertaking.’
He continued: ‘The purpose of the triple-listing was to ensure shareholders can hold and trade their shares across the same three markets on which Unilever securities are currently traded.’
The magic circle firm’s team was led by corporate partners Turner and Michael Fanner in London, Netherlands national managing partner Guido Portier and capital markets partner Alexander Harmse in Amsterdam, and corporate capital markets partners Mike Bienenfeld and Igor Rogovoy in London.
Leading on the tax side were partners Chris Smale in London and Michelle Lo in New York.
Skadden, meanwhile, provided independent board advice to TMICC in connection with the spin-off. The elite US firm also advised TMICC on the purchase of Unilever’s Portuguese ice cream business from Unilever and the Jerónimo Martins Group.
The Skadden team was led by corporate partner Denis Klimentchenko and capital markets head Danny Tricot, alongside global transactions head Lorenzo Corte and international white collar defence and investigations practice head Ryan Junck, working with New York-based tax co-head and London tax partner Jisun Choi.
Linklaters has handled a series of major mandates for Unilever in the past, including its €4.5bn sale of tea business ekaterra to CVC Capital Partners, which completed in July 2022, and the €6.8bn sale of its spread business to KKR in 2017, with Turner and Fanner each involved on both deals.
A&O Shearman advised JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, which acted as financial advisors to Unilever and TMICC, supporting both banks with the listings across all three stock exchanges.
London partners James Roe and Jeff Hendrickson led on English and US law respectively, while Tim Stevens in Amsterdam led on Dutch law.
The demerger was announced in March 2024, as a part of Unilever’s ‘growth action plan’, and was completed on Saturday (6 December).
Unilever stated it will focus on its remaining four business groups across beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care and nutrition.
In a press release, TMICC’s CEO Peter ter Kulve said: ‘Now, as an independent listed company, we will be more agile, more focused, and more ambitious than ever.’
He added: ‘We aim to lead the frozen snacking revolution, shaping new occasions, innovating new products and fresh ways to delight people around the world.’
TMICC’s London and Amsterdam’s listings are now live, while its New York public offering will debut at 9.30am EST.
