Unilever Buys TINE Danish Dairy Unit

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Unilever(UL) has agreed to buy the Danish ice cream operations of Norwegian dairy group TINE to strengthen its position in the Danish ice cream market.

The value of the purchase agreement for Diplom-Is, the ice cream manufacturer, wasn't disclosed.

Unilever said Diplom-Is has a strong position in the out-of-home segment, such as amusement parks and ice cream bars, allowing Unilever to expand its ice cream offering and deepen its foothold in the Danish ice cream market.

Unilever's ice cream presence in Denmark dates back to 1930.

Unilever is also expected to announce on Wednesday a multimillion-dollar investment in San Francisco-based algae-oil harvester Solazyme, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The substance can be a substitute for palm oil -- an important ingredient for the food, soaps and lotions used by many consumer-goods companies. For companies like Unilever, the production of palm oil can be costly to both the environment and the company's image; thus companies such as Unilever have been seeking alternatives to it.

Shares of Unilever ADRs are up 1.9% to $27.28.

-- Written by Andrea Tse in New York.

>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Andrea Tse.

>To follow the writer on Twitter, go to Andrea Tse.

>To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].

Get more stock ideas and investing advice on our sister site, Stockpickr.com.

Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Follow Andrea Tse on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints