Shares in Magnum Ice Cream Company surged after reports that private equity firms Blackstone and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice are exploring a potential bid for the Ben & Jerry’s owner.

The Amsterdam-listed ice cream giant saw its shares climb as much as 18 per cent after Reuters reported that the firms were in the early stages of assessing a possible takeover.

The shares ended Friday up 9.1 per cent, while its US-listed stock rose by a similar amount.

The potential interest comes less than six months after Magnum was spun out of Unilever to create the world’s largest standalone ice cream company.

Magnum owns a portfolio of major frozen brands including Magnum, Cornetto, Heartbrand and Ben & Jerry’s.

According to Reuters, the private equity firms are monitoring Magnum’s share price before deciding whether to make a formal move. Potential bidders are also said to be waiting for the company to report its summer sales performance before making a decision.

Magnum’s shares had been trading close to their debut price from 8 December 2025 before the takeover speculation emerged.

UBS analysts warned earlier this month that, like other consumer goods firms, Magnum could face energy and input cost inflation linked to the conflict in the Middle East, as well as potential pressure on consumer sentiment.

However, they said the business had some protections, including the ability to offset cost inflation through better-than-expected commodity tailwinds in dairy and palm oil.

Magnum reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter sales growth in April, driven by volume gains after a weak performance in the previous quarter. Quarterly sales reached €1.77bn.

Jefferies analysts said execution improvements were becoming visible, particularly in Europe, but warned that growth remained uneven and that margin and returns uncertainty persisted.

The second quarter is expected to be especially important for investor sentiment, as it typically accounts for about 35 per cent of annual sales due to peak summer demand for ice cream.

Magnum has a market capitalisation of around $9bn and was trading at about 15 times forward earnings before Friday’s share price jump.

The company also continues to face pressure over Ben & Jerry’s, with co-founder Ben Cohen backing a long-running “Free Ben & Jerry’s” campaign calling for the brand to become independent.

Cohen has repeatedly criticised both Magnum and former owner Unilever, arguing that the ice cream brand’s social mission has been constrained since it was sold to Unilever in 2000.

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning