Unilever on Thursday said the conglomerate has no intention of selling Ben & Jerry’s — despite a bid by the founders of the popular ice cream brand to buy back the company.
Starting July 1, Unilever’s ice cream brands will be spun off and renamed the Magnum Ice Cream Company, a nod to the division’s other popular company. The spin-off will be listed in the Netherlands as a separate company.
“The separation and listing of ice cream is the option that we consider maximizes shareholder value, that has not changed,” Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez said on a media call, according to Bloomberg.
Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Ben & Jerry’s has been battling its London-based owner for years over its freedom to support liberal causes publicly, like protesting President Trump and the war in Gaza, and calling for police departments to be defunded.
In 2022, the ice cream brand sued Unilever for selling its Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to a partner who continued to sell the sweet treats with slightly different branding.
The companies reached a settlement that same year, which required Unilever to respect Ben & Jerry’s independent board.
Earlier this week, news broke that Unilever allegedly threatened to pull funding for the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, a nonprofit supporting organizations that advocate for prison reforms and undocumented youth.
Unilever demanded the foundation submit to an expedited audit to continue receiving funding – about $5 million each year, sources told Reuters.
“We have not made any threat,” Fernandez said, adding that audits are a valid form of governance and the company wants to know where its money is going.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that these funds are used properly,” he said. “It has to be allocated to areas or institutions that are absolutely in line with the ones that are part of the acquisition agreement.”
In March, Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever fired its chief executive David Stever, who started as a tour guide at the brand’s Waterbury, Vt., factory, over anti-Trump activism.
The brand argued the firing violated its 2000 merger agreement with Unilever.
Unilever responded that it has the authority to appoint a new chief executive, and that it would only make such a decision after speaking with the board.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, childhood friends from Long Island, NY, founded the company in 1978. They sold the company to Unilever for $326 million in 2000.
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