Ben Cohen battles Magnum over Ben & Jerry's social mission and board control
Co-founder Ben Cohen is leading a public campaign to force The Magnum Ice Cream Company to sell Ben & Jerry's, accusing it of dismantling the brand’s independent board and cutting funding for its charitable foundation.
Ben Cohen, the 75-year-old co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, has launched a "Free Ben & Jerry's" campaign demanding that The Magnum Ice Cream Company sell the brand to investors who will honor its original social-justice ethos. He contends that Magnum’s recent actions—imposing nine-year term limits on independent directors and cutting the Ben & Jerry's Foundation’s budget—constitute an "asset-stripping campaign" that threatens the company’s long-term value.
The legal fight, ongoing in the Southern District of New York, follows a broader investor push, led by NorthStar Asset Management and VBDO, for separate financial reporting and assurance of board independence. Magnum counters that the board changes are legitimate and that the foundation’s account has been mischaracterized. Despite the clash, Ben & Jerry's remains Magnum’s top-selling product, with sales up 9.2% in the latest quarter. Cohen warns that the outcome will signal whether large corporations can still balance profit with a genuine social mission.
Why it matters
The case tests whether a major brand can retain its activist roots under corporate ownership, affecting investors and consumers alike.
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