Ben and Jerry's Founders Explore 3 Billion Dollar Buyout with KKR Executive Pete Stavros to Break from Magnum

The co-founders of Ben and Jerry's are in discussions with Pete Stavros, a senior executive at private equity firm KKR, about a deal to separate the ice cream brand from its current owner, Magnum Ice Cream Company, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed transaction would value Ben and Jerry's at approximately $3 billion and is structured to give employees an ownership stake in the brand, a model Stavros has championed across KKR's portfolio companies.

Magnum has pushed back on the report, stating publicly that Ben and Jerry's is not for sale. The founders have for years sought to distance the brand from its corporate parent, arguing that Magnum has constrained the company's ability to take public positions on social and political causes. The WSJ report marks the first time a specific buyer and a specific valuation have been tied publicly to a potential separation.