Ben & Jerry's

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David Gelles, Gobbled Up, But Still Doing Good for the World; How Ben & Jerry's has carved out space for its social mission inside a global conglomerate. New York Times, Aug 23, 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/2 ... ing-gobbled-up.html

Quote:

"Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded their gourmet ice creamery in 1978 * * * [Unilever bought it in 2000 for a rich 25 percent premium; namely purchasing was 25% higher than stock price on the eve of the announcement; resulting in] handsome paydays — Mr Cohen’s stake was reportedly worth about $40 million, while Mr Greenfield’s was worth about $10 million

"15 years after the deal, Mr [Rob] Michalak[, 'who has worked for Ben & Jerry’s on and off for 26 years and is now director of social mission,'] said Ben & Jerry’s remained as mission-driven as ever, and was having a bigger impact than before because of its increased size. (Since the acquisition, Unilever has nearly tripled Ben & Jerry’s revenue and added hundreds of jobs.)

"Unilever, not wanting to squander its purchase, chose to operate Ben & Jerry’s with more autonomy than any of its other subsidiaries. To ensure middle managers did not contaminate the unique culture, Unilever established an 'external board' charged with overseeing Ben & Jerry’s culture and social mission.  That board, initially comprising five longtime Ben & Jerry’s supporters, including Mr Cohen and Mr Greenfield, has the authority to set aggressive new social impact targets and to push back against Unilever.  The external board still exists. According to the legally binding merger agreement, the board does not report to any authority other than itself, nominates its own members, has the right to sue Unilever and will exist in perpetuity.