LONDON - Blackstone and CD&R are among private equity firms in the early stages of exploring bids for Magnum Ice Cream Company, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, less than six months after the owner of Cornetto and Ben & Jerry's was spun out of Unilever.
The firms are monitoring Magnum's share price before deciding whether to make a move, the two people said. Magnum's shares have fallen from a high of 16.5 euros ($19.19) earlier this year to trade close to their debut price at about 13 euros. The ice cream maker listed on December 8 with a valuation of about 7.8 billion euros, below analyst expectations of up to 10.8 billion euros. The shares have traded as low as 11 euros.
