Magnum Ice Cream Acquires 61.9% Stake in Kwality Wall's India, Becomes Promoter

Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd on March 30 said that Magnum Ice Cream Company Holdco 1 Netherlands BV has acquired a 61.90% stake in the company.

Under a Share Purchase Agreement signed in June 2025, the new promoter bought 145.44 crore shares from the current promoters, which include Unilever PLC and its group companies.

According to reports, Magnum Ice Cream Netherlands now controls Kwality Wall’s India and is officially classified as a promoter with this acquisition. The outgoing promoters have been reclassified from the “promoter” category to the public.

The board also approved leadership changes. Abhijit Bhattacharya has been appointed as Chairperson and Additional Director, while Tahil Toloy Tanridagli joins as Additional Director. Ritesh Tiwari resigned as Additional Director, effective from the conclusion of the board meeting.

The board noted the share transfer, reclassification and appointments at its meeting on March 30, 2026.

Demerger and Stake Deal

Earlier, a February 16 report published by The Hindu stated that Magnum Ice Cream Holdings had informed the markets regulator and stock exchanges that it was set to acquire a 26% stake in Kwality Wall’s Ltd.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd demerged Kwality Walls from the promoter group after which the leading ice cream seller listed separately on the stock market on February 16. The stock listed at a discount of 27% opening at ₹29.8, a share down from its issue price of ₹40.20 and closed ₹29.4 a share.

The FMCG major demerged its ice cream business, Kwality Walls Ltd., because “of its different operating model, including differentiated infrastructure for supply and distribution, capital allocation needs, distinct channel landscape and go to-market strategy,” HUL stated in its Integrated Annual Report 2024-25.

“This business … necessitates a dedicated cold chain infrastructure for both its supply chain and points of sale. Furthermore, its pronounced seasonality and capital intensity distinguish it significantly from other segments,” it said, adding that the demerger will help the conglomerate focus on “high growth demand spaces.” The report further added that the brands Kwality Wall’s, Cornetto and Magnum were contributing to 3% of the turnover of HUL. 

From fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the conglomerate made an average net profit of ₹2,659 crore in the third quarter. The company's profit for the third quarter of 2025 was ₹6,603 crore, which was 2.2 times more than the same period the year before. The demerger was announced around the same time.

The company said in its statement about the listing that Kwality Wall's has a market in 400 cities with more than 200,000 stores and 15,000 push carts.