August 3, 2000 -- Friedman Kaplan advised Gordian Group, L.P., the investment bank that served as financial advisor to Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. in connection with Ben & Jerry's merger with Unilever (NYSE: UN, UL). The merger seeks to provide a global reach to Ben & Jerry's super-premium ice cream business and social mission.

Unilever offered $43.60 per share for all of the 8.4 million outstanding shares of Ben & Jerry's on a fully diluted basis, valuing the transaction at $326 million, taking into account net cash and option proceeds. Friedman Kaplan partners Gary D. Friedman and Robert J. Lack and associate Sophia S. Hartch worked on the matter.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Ben & Jerry's will operate separately from Unilever's current U.S. ice cream business. There will be an independent Board of Directors, which will focus on providing leadership for Ben & Jerry's social mission and brand integrity. Ben & Jerry's co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, will continue to be involved with the company, which will continue to be based in Vermont. Ben & Jerry's CEO, Perry Odak, will lead the management team during the transition.

Gordian is a financial services firm based in New York City with a national practice of providing investment banking and financial advisory services in complex situations. It has been involved in some of the largest transactions in North America and abroad, offering expertise in mergers and acquisitions, solvency, public and private financings, reorganizations and matters requiring opinions and expert witness testimony.

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream, ice cream novelties, low-fat ice cream, low-fat yogurt, and sorbet, using Vermont dairy products and high-quality, all-natural ingredients. Ben & Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's scoop shops, restaurants and other venues.

Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer products companies with sales in excess of $45 billion. It is also the world's largest ice cream company, with such brands as Breyers All Natural, Good-Humor, Popsicle, Klondike, and Wall's. Unilever operates in 88 countries around the globe and employs 255,000 people. In the United States, Unilever sales exceeded $8 billion in 1999. It employs 21,000 people and has 66 offices and manufacturing sites in 23 states.