The founders of the ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s said on MSNBC on Sunday that parent company Unilever (NYSE: UL) PLC is in breach of the merger agreement that governed its selling of Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to local licensees who can market their product in Israel’s West Bank.
“That agreement gave authority over the social mission to the independent board of Ben & Jerry’s. Unilever has usurped their authority and reversed the decision that was made and we can’t allow that to happen, we can’t sit idly by,” Ben Cohen stated in an interview on television.
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The partner Jerry Greenfield said the agreement legally binding and requires to be observed.
Unilever, in contrast, has claimed it has retained the power to make operational decisions on behalf of Ben & Jerry’s, and that the sale cannot be reversed because it was ended irrevocably.
Ben & Jerry’s said earlier this month that it is planning to modify its suit against the sale to the Israeli firm in Federal Court in Manhattan. Unilever must reply by November. 1.
In the summer of 2021 in the year 2021, in July 2021, the Burlington, Vermont based company made the decision to cease sales in Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, and deemed it “inconsistent” with the progressive values and social goals it was able to advocate.
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The decision led to protests against Unilever and led to divestments of pension funds of the company’s consumer products division as well as accusations of anti-Semitism made by certain Jewish organizations.