Ben & Jerry's co-founders are in discussions with a KKR executive over a potential deal to regain control of the ice cream brand from its current owner, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The ice cream brand is owned by Unilever.
KKR's global co-head of private equity, Pete Stavros, has been discussing a deal with the co-founders to carve out the business and structure under an employee stock-ownership plan, WSJ said, citing Stavros and Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen.
The structure would give rank-and-file employees stock while providing the company with tax benefits, the report added.
Magnum, KKR, and Ben and Jerry's did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The move comes after years of tensions between Ben & Jerry's founders and former parent Unilever over the brand's pro-Palestinian stance, particularly its 2021 decision to halt sales in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The dispute deepened during Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, with the founders accusing Unilever of restricting the brand's political activism and undermining its independence. Ben & Jerry's is now owned by The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which was spun off from Unilever in 2025.