Unilever is moving its ice cream unit to the heart of Amsterdam city center from Rotterdam, in anticipation of a possible sale or listing of the business.
About 450 employees are expected to move to the new office, according to a spokesperson.in the tourist area of the Reguliersdwarsstraat flower market in the first quarter of next year.
There are many tourist shops and restaurants on that street and it is one of the most popular in Amsterdam. The ice cream unit, along with the rest of Unilever’s nutrition business, is currently based in Rotterdam.
Earlier this year, Unilever announced plans to spin off the ice cream unit, which has not been performing well, to focus on faster-growing products, such as beauty products, that do not require freezing.
The company said it will consider multiple options for an independent ice cream business, and that the most likely means of separation would be the creation of a new publicly traded entity.
That has sparked a battle over whether the ice cream business, which reported revenue of $8.5 billion last year, will be listed in Amsterdam or London, where Unilever is headquartered.
The company has entered into initial talks with acquisition companies about a possible sale of the maker of Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum ice creams, that could be worth up to $19.5 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in July.
