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Ben & Jerry's scooped up
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April 12, 2000: 9:55 a.m. ET
Unilever ends long courtship, will pay $326M for funky ice cream maker
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Consumer goods conglomerate Unilever Inc. agreed to acquire Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. for $326 million cash Wednesday, ending months of speculation about the quirky ice cream maker's future.
Terms of the agreement call for Unilever to submit a tender offer next week offering $43.60 cash for each outstanding Ben & Jerry's (BJICA: Research, Estimates) share. The transaction price, which is significantly higher than the expected deal value of $270 million rumored on Wall Street the past few days, represents a nearly 25 percent premium over Ben and Jerry's closing price of 34-15/16 Tuesday.
 The deal calls for the South Burlington, Vt.-based company to operate as an independent entity from Unilever's current U.S. ice cream business, which includes the Breyer's, Good Humor and Klondike specialty brands.
Ben & Jerry's also will continue to have its own independent board of directors, which will focus on the company's social causes. Currently, the company, founded by ex-hippies Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, donates 7 percent of its annual profits to charitable causes.
The agreement calls for both Cohen and Greenfield to retain some unspecified involvement with the company, which revolutionized the specialty ice cream industry by introducing such popular flavors as Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Phish Food.
Current CEO Perry Odak will oversee the merger process. Ben and Jerry's officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
"Neither of us could have anticipated twenty years ago that a major multi-international would some day sign on, enthusiastically, to pursue and expand the social mission that continues to be an essential part of Ben & Jerry's and a driving force behind many of our successes," Cohen and Greenfield said in a joint statement.
The agreement comes the same day Unilever (UN: Research, Estimates), Europe's largest consumer goods maker, made an appeal to both Jack Sprat and his wife.
Earlier in the day, Unilever, which distributes such diverse brands as Country Crock oleo, Ragu sauces and Degree deodorant, agreed to acquire U.S. diet-food specialist Slim-Fast Foods Inc. for $2.3 billion cash.
Unilver spokesman John Gould said in addition to overseeing the company's social causes, Ben & Jerry's board also will have broad control over the company's day-to-day operations.
The London-based company emerged as the favorite to acquire Ben & Jerry's earlier this week after a Cohen-led group withdrew a bid to take the company private for $38 per share. Others reportedly interested in the company included Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (DRYR: Research, Estimates), Nestle, Britain's Diageo PLC and Italy's Roncadin.
Ben & Jerry's shares jumped 8-1/16 to 43 in early trading Wednesday while Unilever shares gained 3/8 to 50-9/16. 
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