The approach is the first big test of Unilever’s new chairman, Marijn Dekkers, who replaced seasoned veteran Michael Treschow ten months ago.
Dekkers, who like Lemann is a former tennis player, is the former chief executive of German chemicals giant Bayer.
He heads up the 14-person board, which includes well-known figures like Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao and former Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rishton.
Today’s statement from the board, crafted with help from bankers at Morgan Stanley, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Centerview Partners, is a robust signal to Kraft Heinz that the board has little appetite for the deal as it currently stands.
Shareholding: n/a
The Leverhulme Trust and Norges Bank
Most of Unilever’s top shareholders – BlackRock, Legal & General and Vanguard – own the stock through so-called tracker funds, meaning they follow the advice of the board.
Leverhulme and Norges different: they are active holders and have more influential.
Leverhulme represents Unilever’s historic shareholdings, which dates back to the 1930 merger between William Leever, a soapmaker, and Dutch margarine makers the Van den Berghs family.
The historic tie-up still influences the stock market today. Unilever shares are listed in both London and Amsterdam.
Some investors, like Japan's giant government pension fund, choose to own the Dutch stock because of its euro denomination.
However, shareholders on both sides of the English Channel have the same voting rights.
Leverhulme owns about 5% of Unilever and is chaired by former Unilever chief executive Niall FitzGerald.
He is a man steeped in the history and culture of the firm having spent 37 years at the group.
Soveriegn wealth fund Norges Bank, which runs the oil rich country’s pension fund money, owns just over 3% of the company and could put its head above the parapet to influence the M&A battle.
