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The founders of Ben & Jerry’s are reportedly exploring buying the brand back from Unilever following years of conflict with the consumer giant over its stance on Israel.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who founded the ice cream maker in Vermont in 1978, have discussed a potential deal that could be worth billions of dollars, Bloomberg reported.
The two businessmen sold the brand to Unilever, the London-listed owner of Marmite and Dove, in 2000 in a $326m deal.
However, in recent years the brand has clashed with its parent company over its stance on Israel, its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza.
Ben & Jerry’s said it would stop selling its ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021, arguing at the time it was “inconsistent with our values for our product to be present within an internationally recognised illegal occupation”.
Following this, Unilever sold its Israeli ice cream business to a local producer, sparking a vicious legal battle.
Though this conflict was resolved, the two companies clashed again in 2024, when Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of trying to silence attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees in the wake of the war in Gaza in a lawsuit.
Considered one of the original “woke” brands, Ben & Jerry’s is known for taking a firm stance on issues such as refugees’ rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and climate change.
Written into its sale to Unilever was an agreement that it would be run autonomously by an independent board of directors, which was designed to ring-fence its ability to speak out on social issues.
Anuradha Mittal, the chair of its board of directors, told the Financial Times last year that “peace is a core value of the brand”.
She said: “From Iraq to Ukraine [the company] has consistently stood up for these principles. Today is no different as we call for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.”
Mr Cohen and Mr Greenfield did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
News of their interest in a potential carve-out comes as Unilever is preparing to float its ice cream business, which includes the Magnum brand, on the Amsterdam stock exchange in an initial public offering (IPO) expected to reach as much as €15bn (£12.5bn).
This came despite fierce lobbying by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, to list the business in the UK to boost the ailing London Stock Exchange, which has been scrambling to attract companies amid a shortage of IPOs and concerns over poor liquidity and excessive governance.
A Unilever spokesman said: “As confirmed during our 2024 FY results announcement, we are on track to separate the Ice Cream business by way of a demerger. Ben & Jerry’s is an important part of the Ice Cream business, and it’s not for sale.”