Acquisition closed
Unilever acquires Ben & Jerry's (2000)
Unilever completed the acquisition of Ben & Jerry's on 3 August 2000 at $43.60 a share, buying from Ben & Jerry's Homemade.[1][2]
Unilever's subsidiary Conopco acquired Ben & Jerry's Homemade in a two-step transaction: a cash tender offer at $43.60 per share through Vermont All Natural Expansion Company, followed by a back-end merger. The merger agreement created an independent board with a continuing social mission mandate.
The tender offer bought 6,621,944 shares, about 91% of the company, and expired 15 May 2000; the back-end merger and deregistration followed on 3 August 2000. The filings state the price per share, $43.60, but not an aggregate transaction value, so the per-share price is recorded and no total is: multiplying it out by shares outstanding would be an estimate.
Deal facts
- Announced
- Closed
- Value
- $43.60 per share
- Buyer
- Unilever
- Seller
- Ben & Jerry's Homemade
- Assets
- Ben & Jerry's
- Regulatory review
- None recorded
Ownership changes recorded from this deal
| Owner | Owned | Relationship | Stake | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben & Jerry's Homemade | Ben & Jerry's | owns | 100% | 1978-01-01 | 2000-08-03 |
| Unilever | Ben & Jerry's | owns | 100% | 2000-08-03 | 2025-12-08 |
Who owns Ben & Jerry's today?
- Ben & Jerry's — owned by The Magnum Ice Cream Company since 2025
Sources (3) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. Form 8-K — Item 1, Changes in Control of Registrant — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 8-K, published 22 May 2000; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. definitive merger proxy statement (DEFM14A) — SEC EDGAR, SEC proxy statement, published 6 July 2000; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [3] Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. Form 15-12G — deregistration following the merger — SEC EDGAR, SEC filing, published 3 August 2000; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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