Ben & Jerry’s Israel Fight Carries ESG Lesson for Deal Makers

Ben & Jerry’s unprecedented lawsuit against its Unilever plc parent over sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank demonstrates the importance of carefully carving out the level of autonomy for a targeted company in acquisitions.

The fight over the direction of Ben & Jerry’s social mission—as Unilever tries to bulldoze its way into selling ice cream in the West Bank over its subsidiary’s objections on human rights grounds—demonstrates how laying out the extent of a parent’s control is more significant amid amplified environmental, social and governance concerns, lawyers say.

Companies have always mulled various considerations during an acquisition, such as how ...