Recasts, adds more detail on changes and Magnum statement

By Jessica DiNapoli

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's independent board late on Wednesday said in a filing that its new corporate parent, the Magnum Ice Cream Company MICCT.AS, is forcing three more directors to complete training and other requirements or face removal.

Ben & Jerry's, newly under the ownership of Magnum, this month removed the board's chair Anuradha Mittal and set term limits forcing out two other directors by the end of the year, unless they resign first.

Ben & Jerry's is also requiring three additional directors to complete training, sign what the board describes as an "allegiance pledge" and accept new eligibility and term limits by December 23, according to the filing, or else face removal.

The independent board is charged with overseeing the progressive brand's social mission and product integrity.

If the three additional directors are removed, the board, which once had eight members, would be left with just two directors, Ben & Jerry's CEO and one member previously appointed by the brand's prior owner Unilever.

The independent board said in the filing that the changes violate Ben & Jerry's 2000 merger agreement with Unilever ULVR.L. Unilever spun off Magnum, which also includes ice cream brands Cornetto and Wall's, earlier this month.

Ben & Jerry's has been feuding with Unilever since 2021 over its stance on Israel and Gaza, a dispute Magnum has now inherited.

The premium ice cream brand says Magnum and Unilever are working to dismantle and remove the board.

In a statement, a Magnum spokesperson said there is "no such thing as an 'allegiance pledge.'"

The spokesperson said board members were asked to comply with its code of business integrity, which it says is formerly the Unilever code and has been in place since the 2000 acquisition.

The board is also asking a U.S. judge to update its 2024 lawsuit against Unilever by adding Magnum as a defendant. That lawsuit claims that London-based Unilever muzzled it from speaking out on social issues including the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and the war in Gaza.

The board also plans to ask the judge for an order stopping Magnum from removing the directors, according to the filing. It is seeking an expedited ruling in the next few weeks, since Magnum has already removed Mittal and the other directors face near-term deadlines related to their seats.

In a statement, Mittal said that Magnum and Unilever's actions are an "end run around the merger agreement."

The case is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc v Unilever et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-08641.

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Deepa Babington)

((Jessica.DiNapoli@thomsonreuters.com; 845-591-4428; Reuters Messaging: Twitter: @jessicadinapoli))