Ben Cohen, co-founder of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s, wants to buy back the brand from Unilever, which is spinning off its ice division under the name the Magnum Ice Cream Company.

In an interview with the Financieele Dagblad, Cohen said the Amsterdam-based unit is “trying to silence” Ben & Jerry’s over its social and political activism.

Unilever will separate its ice cream business on 10 November and list it on the Amsterdam stock exchange. The new company will include brands such as Magnum, Ola and Ben & Jerry’s, and will be led by chief executive Peter ter Kulve.

Cohen told the paper he sees the spin-off as the perfect moment to sell Ben & Jerry’s to socially minded investors. “Our slogan is Peace, Love and Ice Cream — but how can we live up to that if we’re not allowed to speak out on moral issues?” he said.

The American entrepreneur co-founded the Vermont-based company with Jerry Greenfield in 1978 and sold it to Anglo Dutch group Unilever in 2000 for $326 million. As part of the sale, they secured a legally independent board to safeguard the brand’s social mission and values.

But the company has repeatedly clashed with Unilever’s corporate stance, especially over political topics such as Gaza and Donald Trump. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop sales in Israeli settlements led to a major dispute and legal battle with its parent company.

Cohen, who still works for the brand, said he has gathered interest from investors willing to help him buy it back, but that Unilever and Magnum have rejected his approaches. “They won’t even share the financial information we need to make a fair offer,” he said.

The FD estimated that Ben & Jerry’s could be worth at least €2 billion. Cohen said he believes the money could be raised, though he did not disclose names of potential investors.

He added that if a buyout fails, he may turn to shareholder activism in the new Magnum Ice Cream Company. “Magnum will realise it’s in their interest to sell Ben & Jerry’s, because otherwise we’ll do our best to make things difficult for them,” he said.

Unilever declined to comment on Cohen’s remarks, the Financieele Dagblad reported.

However, Magnum told Reuters in a statement that it has had discussions on only about 2% of the brand’s social media posts over the years.

“We have always striven to work together with the Ben & Jerry’s teams to craft balanced messages in line with the original agreement around the progressive, non-partisan social mission,” Magnum said.