Star stockpicker Terry Smith dumps entire Unilever holding after McCormick mega-merger Retail One of Britain’s best-known fund managers has dumped his holding in Unilever worth hundreds of millions of pounds, accusing the consumer goods giant of abandoning its traditional shareholders in favour of activist-driven deals like last month’s McCormick mega-deal. Terry Smith, the star stockpicker behind the £12.5bn Fundsmith Equity Fund, sold out of his position in [...]
Unilever food spin off gets marmite reception Retail Unilever’s talks over selling its food business has been met with a marmite reception as analysts warned a deal may not pay off until the long-term. The FTSE 100 giant said on Friday it is in talks with US spice and seasoning maker McCormick over offloading its food brands, including Marmite and Hellman’s. The move [...]
Magnum only scoops €8bn valuation on stock market debut Retail Unilever’s demerged Magnum Ice Cream Company netted a €7.8bn (£6.8bn) valuation on its stock market debut, heavily undershooting early analyst expectations at an initial public offering overshadowed by a long-running spat with the founders of Ben & Jerry’s. Shares in the ice cream group, which also owns the Cornetto and Wall’s brands, opened 60 cents [...]
Ben & Jerry’s founders call for release from parent company on social justice grounds September 9, 2025 The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s have written to the board of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) and Magnum’s potential investors, requesting that the brand be released from the conglomerate. “Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical premise: that our business could thrive and make outstanding products whilst standing up for progressive [...]
Unilever: Dove and Magnum owner shrugs off economic concerns October 24, 2024 Consumer goods giant Unilever has reported a period of strong growth as demand for its so-called power brands surged. In a trading update for the third quarter of 2024, the company said it had recorded underlying sales growth of 4.5 per cent compared to the prior year across its main divisions, with volume growth of [...]
UK at risk of losing out on Unilever ice-cream float September 15, 2024 The UK is at risk of losing out on a key deal for London because it hasn’t appointed an investment minister, according to a former Barclays chairman. Gerry Grimstone, who also worked as investment minister at the Treasury from 2020-2022, said that Labour’s lack of focus on boosting the UK’s stock market may see Unilever’s [...]