UK Magic Circle firm Linklaters was the sole legal adviser on Unilever’s spin off of its Magnum ice cream business and listing on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges.
Unilever began the process of demerging its ice cream portfolio back in July by creating the Magnum Ice Cream Company as a standalone business ahead of today’s stock market listing (8 December). Its brands include Magnum, Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s.
In Amsterdam, Magnum Ice Cream’s stock opened at 12.20 euros, below its reference share price of 12.80 euros, CNBC reported.
The Linklaters team was led by London corporate partners Charlie Turner and Michael Fanner alongside Dutch corporate partners Guido Portier and Alexander Harmse, US corporate partners Mike Bienenfeld and Igor Rogovoy, and tax partners Chris Smale and Michelle Lo.
Turner said: “The depth and breadth of our global teams enabled us to deliver on one of the largest and most complex carve-outs in recent years, as well as advising on all three listings for the demerger. Our team showed great agility in navigating the complexity of the separation and competing requirements of three regulatory regimes as well as helping Unilever and The Magnum Ice Cream Company navigate the US government shutdown.”
Unilever installed former group general counsel for ice cream Vanessa Vilar as Magnum’s chief legal officer earlier this year, Bloomberg reported back in July. She will be supported by Natalia Cavaliere, who was appointed as Magnum’s GC for the Americas, the same role she held for Unilever’s ice cream division.
Magnum also hired DLA Piper partner Palmina Fava as its chief integrity officer and litigation head, as well as GC of its Ben & Jerry’s brand, Bloomberg reported. She replaced Jeffrey Eglash in the role, who is remaining on at Unilever as its global litigation head.
Ben & Jerry’s, which is known for espousing its social values such as advancing human rights and supporting social and economic justice, was acquired by Unilever in 2000. That deal included a legally binding clause that would ensure the independence of Ben & Jerry’s social activism and any related decisions.
However, Ben & Jerry’s in March said its chief executive, David Stever, was being ousted from Unilever amid a dispute over the ice cream brand’s political activism, according to a US legal filing claiming that Unilever had breached its merger agreement by attempting to mute Ben & Jerry’s social mission.
Reuters reported yesterday that Anuradha Mittal, the chair of Ben & Jerry’s independent board, had no plans to resign despite pressure from Magnum for her to step down.
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