Ben & Jerry’s founders explore deal to separate brand from owner after previous clashes: report

Ben & Jerry’s founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are exploring a deal to separate their brand from its current owner, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The ice cream brand is owned by Unilever spin-off Magnum Ice Cream.

The co-founders have been discussing a deal with Pete Stavros, founder of Expanding ESOPs, to carve out the business and structure it under an employee stock-ownership plan, WSJ said, citing Stavros and Cohen.

The structure would give rank-and-file employees stock while providing the company with tax benefits, the report added.

But any deal would need to be approved by Ben & Jerry’s owner Magnum, which told Reuters in an emailed statement that “Ben & Jerry’s is not for sale and, more importantly, is thriving as part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company.”

“Taking Ben & Jerry’s out of Magnum would drive significant dis-synergies, investment in the social mission would fall, and selling prices per unit would inflate,” it added.

Ben & Jerry’s has a history of vocal social activism and its founders and board have repeatedly clashed with former parent Unilever over political and ethical stances.

Magnum has also looked to weaken the control of Ben & Jerry’s independent board, which has been reduced to just two members.

Cohen told the WSJ that “all he could do is try to generate more public pressure on Magnum to sell.”

Ben & Jerry’s and representatives for the co-founders and Stravos did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.