By Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's independent board late on Wednesday said in a filing that its new corporate owner, the Magnum Ice Cream Company, was not authorized to remove
directors including Chair Anuradha Mittal.
Magnum, previously a unit of food and household products maker Unilever, this month removed Mittal, set term limits forcing out two other directors by the end of the year and is requiring others to complete training by next week, according to the filing and Reuters reporting.
The moves violate Ben & Jerry's 2000 merger agreement with its prior owner Unilever, the independent board said in the filing. Unilever spun out Magnum, which also includes ice cream brands Cornetto and Wall's, earlier this month.
The board is now asking a U.S. judge to update its 2024 lawsuit against Unilever by adding Magnum as a defendant. That lawsuit claims that London-based Unilever muzzled it from speaking out on social issues including the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and the war in Gaza.
Magnum did not immediately return a request for comment.
The board also plans to ask the judge for an order stopping Magnum from removing the directors, according to the filing. It is seeking an expedited ruling in the next few weeks, since Magnum has already removed Mittal and the other directors face near-term deadlines related to their seats.
The politically progressive ice cream brand has been feuding with parent company Unilever, and now Magnum, since 2021 over its stance on Israel and Gaza.
Ben & Jerry's now says Magnum and Unilever are working to dismantle and remove the board, which oversees the brand's social mission and product quality. The CEO of Ben & Jerry's and a Unilever-appointee also sit on the board.
In a statement, Mittal said that Magnum and Unilever's actions are an "end run around the merger agreement."
The case is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc v Unilever et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-08641.
(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
