Spinoff Odds & Ends: Ice Cream Drama, Billion-Dollar Borrowings, and a 5x Surprise

Unilever’s Ice Cream Headache: Ben & Jerry’s vs. Magnum

We have discussed Unilever’s(UL) The Magnum Ice Cream Company spinoff. They haven’t said so, but one of the reasons may be the untenable position they are in with Ben & Jerry’s and how it has affected the rest of their businesses. When Ben & Jerry sold to Unilever, they negotiated an unusual structure that kept the social stances of the company independent of Unilever’s control. In recent years this has led to a number of conflicts. Founder Ben Cohen, who remains an employee, has been protesting against the company of late and has attempted to buy back Ben & Jerry’s, an offer that has been rebuffed. Jerry Greenfield, the company’s other founder loudly quit today, citing the company’s failing to honor the terms of the buyout agreement on preserving political independence. The spinoff remains on track for next quarter.

Honeywell, Solstice, DuPont, Qnity and the Debt-Fueled Dividend Game

Honeywell’s(HON) Solstice Advanced Materials spinoff is also on track for Q4. In preparation, Solstice sold $1 billion in notes and borrowed an addition $1 billion. The borrowings will be used to fund a distribution to Honeywell ahead of the spinoff. Qnity, DuPont’s(DD) electronics spinoff scheduled for November, also recently borrowed $4.1 billion to fund a distribution to its parent. I should get my kids to do this for me when they move out.

GE Vernova’s Fivefold Rise—and a Belated Buy Rating

Barron’s reports that Melius Research analyst Rob Wertheimer upgraded GE Vernova(GEV) stock to Buy from Hold. He points out that GE Vernova has gone up fivefold since its April 2024 spinoff from GE Aerospace(GE), part of the historic breakup of the once proud conglomerate.  One wonders about the value of his prognostications, though, if he had it Hold while it went up 5x.

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Disclosure: the author owns shares of GE and eats more ice cream than he should