In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the Unilever owned company said that following investigations commissioned by the group and conducted by external advisers it believes that Mittal no longer "meets the criteria" to serve as a member of the Ben & Jerry’s Board.
The news follows confirmation by Unilever that it plans to complete the demerger of its ice cream business by the end of the year.
Ben & Jerry’s was bought by Unilever in 2000 – with the deal being it would be allowed to maintain an independent board to oversee its social mission
In this latest filing, Magnum Ice Cream also said that it believed that the governance structure of Ben & Jerry’s may pose certain risks to the reputation and operations of the Group with the potential for “misalignment” between decisions taken or public statements made by the Ben & Jerry’s Board, its members or others associated with Ben & Jerry’s
The statement also said that in addition to taking decisions or making public statements that are inconsistent with the group’s strategy and objectives, the Ben & Jerry’s Board, its members or others associated with Ben & Jerry’s may also attempt to bring legal claims and make public statements against the company or other members of the Group where they may believe that the actions of the company infringe on their primary responsibilities for the “social mission” or “essential integrity” of the Ben & Jerry’s brand.
It said: “Such actions could similarly result in reputational damage, consumer boycotts of products, investor claims or adverse shifts in consumer behaviour.”
The Group said it has informed the Ben & Jerry’s Board about the results of the internal investigations and said it will “consider its options” depending on the response it receives from the Ben & Jerry’s Board.
In September Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield announced he was quitting his role with the ice cream brand and accused Unilever of silencing its social mission.
There has been conflict between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s in the past.
Only last month, Ben Cohen, one of the architects behind Ben & Jerry’s, said its parent company, Unilever, has stopped it from rolling out a Palestine-themed ice cream.
This isn’t the first time the founders have locked horns with their owner.
In 2022, a US judge denied a request by Ben & Jerry’s which would have prevented Unilever from selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.
This latest spat between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, follows the Ben & Jerry co-founders calling for the brand to be made independent.
In a letter, Cohen and Jerry Greenfield said that the ownership of Unilever has led to the breakdown of the “social values on which [Ben & Jerry’s] was founded”.
