Latest news with #terKulve
New York Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Unilever cuts off millions in funding to Ben & Jerry's charity over donations to pro-Palestinian groups: report
Unilever is reportedly cutting off millions of dollars in funding to the Ben & Jerry's charitable foundation after it refused to provide audit documents about donations to pro-Palestinian groups, escalating an internal dispute between a corporate parent and its left-leaning subsidiary. Peter ter Kulve, head of Unilever's ice cream division, informed Ben & Jerry's executives via email that the foundation's trustees 'have continued to resist basic oversight' and are not cooperating with requests from corporate auditors, according to the news site Semafor. 'It represents a marked departure from the norms of charitable organizations, for whom transparency is typically a bedrock operating principle,' ter Kulve wrote in the email, which was obtained by Semafor. 4 Unilever is reportedly cutting off millions of dollars in funding to the Ben & Jerry's charitable foundation. nmann77 – The audit process is part of Unilever's ongoing effort to spin off its ice cream business, which includes the famously left-leaning Vermont-based brand. The Ben & Jerry's foundation distributed more than $5 million of Unilever's funds in 2022, mostly to progressive organizations. The foundation has operated under Unilever's ownership since the multinational acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000. Since then, the company's outspoken political stances have frequently clashed with its corporate parent's broader business objectives. The audit has become a flashpoint in the growing dispute between Unilever and the foundation. According to Semafor, the probe into the foundation's activities has revealed a deeper turf war over the scope and nature of its charitable giving. 4 Ben & Jerry's, the Vermont-based ice cream maker, was acquired by Unilever in April 2000 for $326 million. Electric Egg Ltd. – Ter Kulve told executives that Unilever and the future independent Ben & Jerry's management team had made repeated efforts to address the foundation's concerns. These included changing the audit firm and pledging to keep certain grantee information private. 'The Foundation is a powerful force for good and has played a meaningful role in advancing the Ben & Jerry's social mission,' ter Kulve wrote. 'We remain committed to that mission.' Despite these assurances, the dispute has continued to escalate. Representatives for Unilever and Ben & Jerry's did not respond to a request for comment. The conflict between the British conglomerate — specializing in food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products — and the Ben & Jerry's Foundation comes amid the broader plan to spin off its ice cream division, which it announced last year. 4 Peter ter Kulve, head of Unilever's ice cream division, informed Ben & Jerry's executives that the foundation's trustees 'have continued to resist basic oversight' and are not cooperating with requests from corporate auditors. Unilever The audit of the foundation was initiated as part of that process. However, what began as a standard financial review has morphed into a highly charged confrontation over governance, transparency, and political values. According to the foundation's trustees, Unilever is using the corporate restructuring process as an excuse to undermine the foundation's philanthropic work. The origins of the rift trace back at least to 2021, when Ben & Jerry's announced it would no longer sell its products in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. 4 Ben & Jerry's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute has caused headaches for corporate parent Unilever. The image above shows Israeli soldiers in the Tulkarm refugee camp on Wednesday. Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Unilever responded by selling the Ben & Jerry's license for the region, a move that sparked further backlash from the brand's independent board of directors. In November, Ben & Jerry's independent directors filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the parent company of silencing the ice cream maker's public statements in support of Palestinian refugees.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Unilever proposes Peter ter Kulve as CEO of ice cream spin-off
By Jessica DiNapoli and Richa Naidu NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Unilever has named its preferred candidate to lead the group's soon-to-be listed ice cream division, proposing Peter ter Kulve, who has previously faced criticism from the board of its Ben & Jerry's business. Ter Kulve, a longstanding Unilever executive who is president of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), is expected to receive TMICC board approval next month for his appointment as CEO, said a spokesperson for parent Unilever, ahead of a planned Amsterdam listing this year. TMICC is home to six of the world's top 10 ice cream brands, including Ben & Jerry's, which has been publicly at odds with ter Kulve and its parent company in recent years. Representatives for Ben & Jerry's and its independent board did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Unilever declined to comment on the implications of ter Kulve's proposed appointment. Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever in 2000 for $326 million in a deal that included a unique clause allowing the brand to maintain its own independent board of directors with authority over its social mission while Unilever controlled operational and financial decisions. The acrimonious relationship between the Ben & Jerry's board and ter Kulve, who has headed Unilever's ice cream business since 2024, included a November lawsuit against Unilever that accused the company of silencing attempts by Ben & Jerry's to express support for Palestinian refugees and end military aid to Israel. TMICC generated turnover of 8.3 billion euros ($9.6 billion) in 2024. It controls 20% of the global ice cream market, according to Barclays, which estimates that Ben & Jerry's is the world's third-largest ice cream brand by sales, behind Magnum and General Mills' Haagen-Dazs. About 60% of Ben & Jerry's sales come from the United States, Barclays said. "Ben & Jerry's and Magnum are the two key premium brands for the Magnum Ice Cream Company," said Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman. "Investors will want reassurance that there will not be any further fallout ... but with the legal dispute still ongoing, there is still some tail risk in our view." ($1 = 0.8655 euros) Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
