[STRATEGIC] Consumer Food ·
Condiments / Flavour · Cross-Atlantic Merger —
ANNOUNCED March 31, 2026 — Expected Close Mid-2027
McCormick and Unilever Announce $44.8B
Mega-Merger — Creating a Global Flavor Powerhouse with $20B in Revenue
The largest deal in McCormick's 137-year history and one of the
biggest consumer food transactions ever: the Hunt Valley spice giant acquires
Unilever's food portfolio — Hellmann's, Knorr, Marmite, Becel, and more — in a
cash-and-equity deal that creates a global condiments and seasonings colossus
while enabling Unilever to pivot entirely to higher-growth Health, Personal
Care, and Beauty.
DEAL SNAPSHOT
|
UNILEVER FOODS ENTERPRISE VALUE $44.8 Billion (13.8x
EV/EBITDA) |
MCCORMICK SHAREHOLDERS RETAIN 35% of combined company |
|
CASH TO UNILEVER $15.7 Billion |
COMBINED REVENUES (2025) ~$20 Billion |
|
EQUITY (UNILEVER / SHAREHOLDERS
GET) 65% of combined company
(~$29.1B) |
ANNOUNCED March 31, 2026 —
Expected Close Mid-2027 |
THE PARTIES
|
ACQUIRER McCormick & Company,
Inc. (NYSE: MKC) Hunt Valley,
MD-based global spice, seasoning, and condiment company, founded 1889. CEO
Brendan Foley (to lead combined company). FY2025 revenues ~$6.8B. Known for
its iconic red-cap spice jars, Frank's RedHot, French's mustard, Cholula,
Lawry's, and Zatarain's. Has been executing a 30-year acquisition-led flavour
expansion strategy. The Unilever Foods deal eclipses all prior transactions
combined. McCormick will issue shares equating to 65% of the combined company
to Unilever and its shareholders. |
SELLER / CONTRIBUTOR Unilever Foods (from
Unilever PLC, LON: ULVR / NYSE: UL) The food
division of Unilever PLC — the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company led by CEO
Fernando Fernandez. Includes: Hellmann's (world's #1 mayo), Knorr (bouillons,
soups, seasonings), Marmite, Becel/Flora, Maggi (ex-India), and others.
Revenues ~$12.5B in 2025. The deal excludes Lipton ready-to-drink beverages,
Buavita juices, Unilever's food operations in India, Portugal, and Nepal, and
lifestyle nutrition assets. |
DEAL OVERVIEW
McCormick agreed
to acquire the majority of Unilever's global food portfolio in a
cash-and-equity transaction announced March 31, 2026. McCormick will pay $15.7
billion in cash (funded through committed bridge financing from Citi, Goldman
Sachs Bank USA, and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding) and issue shares
representing 65% of the combined company's fully diluted equity — valued at
approximately $29.1 billion based on McCormick's one-month VWAP of $57.84.
Unilever shareholders effectively become the majority owners of the enlarged
McCormick.
The deal creates
a combined company under the McCormick name, headquartered in Hunt Valley with
an international base in the Netherlands, generating approximately $20 billion
in combined 2025 revenues. The transaction is unanimously approved by both boards
and has an irrevocable undertaking from the founding Schroder family equivalent
stakeholder on the McCormick side. Close is expected mid-2027, pending
McCormick shareholder approval and multi-jurisdictional antitrust clearances.
Synergies are estimated at $600 million annually.
"Together, we will be better positioned to accelerate growth in
attractive categories. Flavor is fully aligned with today's health and wellness
priorities, as consumers increasingly focus on cooking at home and pursuing
healthier lifestyles."
— Brendan
Foley, President & CEO, McCormick
WHY UNILEVER IS SELLING ITS FOOD BUSINESS
Unilever's food
brands — while iconic — have been growing at low-single-digit rates while the
company's Beauty, Personal Care, and Wellbeing segments post mid-single-digit
to high-single-digit organic growth. CEO Fernando Fernandez, who took over in
early 2025, has been executing a portfolio transformation: the ice cream
business (Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, Walls) was spun off in 2025. Shedding
Foods completes the transformation into a pure-play High Performance Company
(HPC) focused on premium beauty and wellness.
For McCormick,
this is an unrivalled opportunity to acquire the Knorr and Hellmann's
franchises — assets it has coveted for decades. The combination gives McCormick
a dominant foodservice channel (where Unilever has traditionally excelled) and
accelerates international scale in Latin America and Asia.
ADVISORS
Buy-side
Financial (McCormick): Citi +
Rothschild & Co
Buy-side
Legal (McCormick): Cleary Gottlieb
Steen & Hamilton LLP + Hogan Lovells
Buy-side
Debt Financing (McCormick): Citigroup
Global Markets Inc. + Goldman Sachs Bank USA + Morgan Stanley Senior Funding
Inc. ($15.7B committed bridge)
Sell-side
Financial (Unilever): Goldman Sachs
International + Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (financial advisors
+ corporate brokers)
Sell-side
Legal (Unilever): Clifford Chance LLP
+ Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz