Ben & Jerry’s owner delays spinoff amid federal shutdown as founders continue push for brand’s independence
October 23, 2025 | By Theo Wells-Spackman
Ben & Jerry’s Factory and Store in Waterbury. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Unilever, the owner of Ben & Jerry’s, announced Tuesday that, due to the federal government shutdown, the conglomerate would postpone the creation of a spinoff company that would operate the Vermont brand.
The announcement was welcomed by the ice cream company’s founder, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who the previous day had redoubled their campaign of public pressure to “free” their former company from what they say is Unilever’s corporate censorship.
As the Unilever spin-off — The Magnum Ice Cream Company — takes shape and prepares to become the new owner of Ben & Jerry’s, Cohen and Greenfield have protested in court and in personal statements that Unilever inappropriately intervened in the ice cream maker’s political positions. The new company is set to be overseen by the same executives and with the same “stifling” leadership as Unilever, Cohen said last month.
Unilever has repeatedly stated that Ben & Jerry’s is not for sale. In their most recent email communication to supporters, Cohen and Greenfield targeted the upcoming Unilever spinoff and its initial public offering as an opportunity for supporters to contact the corporation’s board directly and demand that it grant Ben & Jerry’s operational independence.
The conglomerate’s alleged suppression of Ben & Jerry’s activism has come in relation to “issues such as Gaza, indigenous rights, the Trump administration, and DEI,” the founders said in an open letter last month.
A spokesperson for Unilever said Wednesday that the company’s delay was not related to recent clashes with Cohen and Greenfield. Tuesday’s announcement attributed the decision to the federal government shutdown. The company said in a statement that the demerger is on track and the spinoff should happen by the end of the year.
The update comes amid national concern about how public offerings will proceed given the skeletal operation of the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently unable to process necessary evaluations for companies seeking to sell shares on the stock exchange, leaving companies like The Magnum Ice Cream Company in limbo until the government reopens.
“If the SEC cannot do its job, then either the company may say we’re not willing to (launch a public offering), or the company may not legally be able to do it,” said Andrey Ukhov, a professor at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business.
Ukhov said while the shutdown is reason enough to postpone the demerger, the attention created by the founders will likely not be beneficial for the deal. The possibility of continued legal action from the founders, as well as a potential to see decreased sales, could be “value diminishing” for the new company as it seeks investors, he said.
“Magnum’s upcoming IPO in early November means the silencing is set to continue,” Monday’s email from the founders said. The founders directed their supporters to a “Sign the Letter” page that includes language about withholding patronage from Ben & Jerry’s if the company is not granted independence. The letter was addressed to The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s CEO and board members.
Cohen welcomed the company’s shutdown-related delay on Tuesday.
“Good,” he said in a statement on X. “It gives us a real shot to free Ben & Jerry’s.”
This story was originally published by VTDigger on Oct. 22. It is republished with permission from VTDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To support this work, please visit vtdigger.org/donate.