According to Bloomberg, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have held discussions about a possible deal over the past few months, with the Ben & Jerry’s brand reportedly worth several billion dollars.
However, in a quote given to Food Manufacture, Unilever denied that a sale is on the horizon.
“Ben & Jerry’s is an important part of the ice cream business, and it’s not for sale,” a spokesperson for the FMCG giant said.
Unilever has been in the process of spinning off Ben & Jerry’s, along with fellow ice cream brands Magnum and Wall’s, into a standalone company based in Amsterdam.
This process is underway, with the latest updates suggesting it will be completed by the end of this year.
The demerged ice cream business will have its primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam, with secondary listings in London and New York.
Cohen and Greenfield sold Ben & Jerry’s to Unilever in 2000 for $326m but have been involved with several disagreements with Unilever since over their messaging on social justice issues.
This includes Ben & Jerry’s filing a lawsuit against its parent company in November 2024 accusing Unilever of silencing the ice cream maker’s attempts to advocate for Palestinians as well as its calls for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The pair also said that Unilever has attempted to mandate their silence on US President Donald Trump.
The news comes just days after the CEO of Unilever Hein Schumacher announced that he will leave the firm at the end of May. He is being replaced by chief financial officer Fernando Fernandez.
Food Manufacture has reached out to Ben & Jerry’s for comment.
