Katie LenziniJeremy Epstein

February 27, 2007

Background Info

• Started in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont

• Founders: Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield

• Spent $5 learning how to make ice cream

• Bought an old gas station and opened shop

• Initial Investment: $12,000 ($4,000 borrowed)

Timeline• 1980 started distributing pints in grocery stores• 1984 Vermont Only stock offering

– $10.50 x 75,000 shares = $787,500– Used to build new factory

• 1985 NASDAQ IPO– $13 x 450,000 shares = $5,850,000 market cap

• 1992 Additional Stock Issued– $30.50 x 1,265,000 shares = $38,582,500

• August, 2000 Acquired by ___________

A) DREYERSB) UNILEVERC) MEADOWBROOK LANE CAPITALD) CHARTWELL INVESTMENTS

Who acquired Ben & Jerry’s?

UNILEVER

$43.60

Mission Statement Analysis

• Product– Did they fulfill their mission statement?

• Economic– Did they increase value for shareholders…

was there anything that prevented this?

• Social– What ways did they help the community?

How did they help community?

• Ben and Jerry’s Foundation– Donates minimum $1.1 million per year

• Green Team– Focuses on environmental concerns

• CAT (community action teams)– Get employees involved in service projects

Takeover Target?

• Slowdown in growth• 45% share of market• Already had existing infrastructure• Strong, developed brand name• Very low debt ratios

– Debt-equity ratio: 18.68%– Debt-ratio: 15.7%

• Return on Equity 8.9%– Can get better return in market

• Donated 7.5% to charity…inefficient use of earnings?

Stakeholders

• Employees (specifically management)

• Suppliers

• Charities

• Shareholders

• Social Mission

Fair Market Value

05

101520253035404550

Dreyer'sGrand

Eskimo Pie TCBYEnterprises

YocreamInternational

Ben & Jerry's

Average industry P/E ratio: 23.92

What happened with acquisition

• April 12, 2000 Unilever announced it would acquire Ben & Jerry’s Homemade at $43.60 per share for 8.4 million outstanding shares (that’s over $300 million for ice cream!!)

• Maintained Independent BOD, but replaced Ben & Jerry’s CEO with Unilever employee a few months later

Social Mission Under Unilever

• Following acquisition, Ben and Jerry ceased involvement because they felt Unilever just used social mission as marketing ploy

• In 2005, new CEO took over Ben & Jerry’s business and made effort to focus on social mission, resulting in Ben and Jerry becoming involved again

• Since then, Ben & Jerry’s continues to support community and donate portion of earnings to charity

What is your favorite flavor?

A) Cherry Garcia

B) Phish Food

C) Chunky Monkey

D) Chubby Hubby

E) Other

Questions?

Information came from Ben & Jerry’s website, Unilever’s website, and www.msnbc.com