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Ben & Jerry’s claims its guardian firm unlawfully fired CEO David Stever over his social and political activism, violating its merger settlement.
The Vermont-based ice-cream maker, recognized for its social activism, stated in courtroom paperwork filed in New York on Tuesday that Unilever knowledgeable its board it was changing Stever for “his commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity and his willingness to collaborate in good faith with the Independent Board, rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history.”
The corporate acknowledged the transfer highlighted “Unilever’s failure to adhere to its contractual obligations” below the merger settlement made when Unilever acquired the ice-cream maker in 2000 for $326 million. It specified the CEO might solely be eliminated after consulting with the board’s advisory committee.
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“Unilever announced their decision before the committee had even been appointed and attempted to force the Independent Board into rubberstamping the decision by unilaterally dictating artificial and hasty deadlines,” the courtroom paperwork acknowledged.
FOX Enterprise reached out to Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever for remark.
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is saved in a cooler at an occasion the place founders Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen gave away ice cream to deliver consideration to police reform on the U.S. Supreme Courtroom on Might 20, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photos)
Ben and Jerry’s stated the merger settlement additionally “protects the Social Mission and Brand Integrity of Ben & Jerry’s, positions the Independent Board as the “custodians” of the same, and obligates Unilever to work with the Independent Board in good faith.”
Nevertheless, the corporate argued that Unilever “repeatedly failed to recognize and respect the Independent Board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity, including threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel should the company speak out regarding issues which that Unilever prefers to censor.”
Since its founding in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s has been recognized for its left-leaning advocacy, and the Vermont-based ice-cream maker was capable of keep an unbiased board of administrators to proceed its progressive activism even after it offered to Unilever in 2000.
However lately, the distinctive construction of the deal that allowed Ben & Jerry’s to wade into controversial points with out interference has pulled Unilever into the fray, too.
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The most important lightning rod started in July 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s introduced it might not promote its merchandise to Israelis within the West Financial institution, which the corporate refers to as “Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
(Mike Kemp/In Footage by way of Getty Photos)
In 2023, Ben & Jerry’s stated Unilever introduced that it had offered Ben & Jerry’s mental property in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory to a distributor who would proceed gross sales within the settlements – a transfer the ice-cream maker claimed breached its merger settlement.
In March 2024, Unilever, the proprietor of some 400 manufacturers, introduced plans to spin off its ice-cream enterprise — together with Ben & Jerry’s — after greater than a century.
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % UL UNILEVER PLC 58.71 -1.01
-1.69%
Ben & Jerry’s stated in courtroom paperwork Tuesday that Unilever “failed to engage with the Independent Board in good faith regarding how the restructuring will preserve the rights, duties, and obligations specified in the parties’ agreements, including Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity and the Independent Board’s authority over the same.”
