LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve

dismissed any talk of selling Ben & Jerry's ( UL ) on Wednesday and

said he was focused on reclaiming market share and growing sales

as the spin-off of the new Magnum Ice Cream Company from

Unilever ( UL ) approaches.

Unilever ( UL ) expects the ice cream business, which

includes brands such as Magnum, Ben & Jerry's ( UL ), Wall's and

Cornetto, to command just over a fifth of the around $88 billion

global ice cream market and compete with rivals such as

Nestle-backed Froneri.

Magnum is already operating separately to Unilever ( UL ) and after

years of declining ice cream market share and stagnant profits,

ter Kulve said the shift has been a game changer, allowing the

company to invest in supply chains, sales and distribution.

"Last year, we had a massive (market) share step up," ter

Kulve said.

Ben & Jerry's ( UL ) seized the spotlight at an investor day ahead

of the mid-November listing on Tuesday, renewing a call for its

own spin-off after years of clashes over the U.S. brand's vocal

position on Gaza.

Asked about an approach to Unilever ( UL ) led by Ben & Jerry's ( UL )

co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield to buy the brand last

year, Magnum CEO ter Kulve said: "I have not been privy to any

discussion between Unilever ( UL ) and Ben & Jerry."

"Ben & Jerry's ( UL ) is not for sale," ter Kulve said.

Unilever's ( UL ) CEO Fernando Fernandez is trying to shake up the

consumer goods conglomerate by streamlining management and

boosting margins. It will retain less than 20% of the ice cream

business after it has been listed.

Magnum's CFO Abhijit Bhattacharya said the split was a

win-win for both entities with Unilever's ( UL ) portfolio becoming

more focused and Magnum, concerned only with ice cream, having

the opportunity to improve margins.

Bhattacharya said the terms of the demerger, under which

every Unilever ( UL ) shareholder will get a relative stake in Magnum,

shields the company from market volatility that an initial

public offering might usually face.

"Basically we know our future shareholders, at least on day

one," Bhattacharya said. "So the demerger actually de-risks us

from the market vagaries of an IPO."