McCormick will open a secondary listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange following its acquisition of Unilever’s food businesses, it revealed today.
Expected to close by mid-2027, the deal will create a $20bn turnover “global flavour powerhouse” divided into four divisions and headquartered in Maryland and the Netherlands.
McCormick told investors it would organise the consumer business – which will include herbs, spices, and condiments and sauces under brands such as Hellmann’s and Cholula – into an $8bn North American division and $7bn international division.
The rest of the company’s business will be then split into a $4bn turnover global foodservice unit and $2.5bn global B2B flavour business.
The new structure would see the group “bring together proven leaders from both McCormick and Unilever Foods from a diverse set of backgrounds and skill sets,” McCormick CEO Brendan Foley said.
“Our planned operating model is designed to place consumers and customers at the centre of the combined business, enabling disciplined execution, enhanced innovation, and sustainable long-term growth, while supporting a rewarding employee experience.”
Foley is to retain his leadership role in the merged company, alongside McCormick CFO Marcos Gabriel.
McCormick’s international consumer division will be led by Heiko Schipper, current president of Unilever Foods. Schipper said he was “delighted” to be part of the new company, and called the operating model an “important step forward”.
The group’s Americas consumer division will be led by Andrew Foust, currently the group’s chief integration officer and prior president of McCormick’s Americas division.
Foust said that the two companies’ “dilligent execution and collaboration” had already laid a foundation for the combined company.
“The strong cultural alignment between our businesses reinforces our conviction in the strategic merits of this combination, and I am confident we have the right structure and leadership to execute on a successful integration upon closing.”
Foust’s integration management office will remain in place following the deal’s closure to oversee the integration and exit from transition service agreements with Unilever.
Other former Unilever Foods leaders will be retained, with Unilever Food Solutions CEO Nuria Hernández Crespo to become EVP for global foodservice. Unilever’s chief product supply officer for its nutrition division, Jennifer Han, will become the group’s chief supply chain officer, and Unilever chief R&D officer Heike Steiling will take up the same role under McCormick.
While the merged company will list in London, it will retain Unilever Foods’ footprint in the Netherlands as its international headquarters, where the company’s long-standing R&D facilities “support deep sector expertise”, the company said.
Earlier this week, the Competition & Markets Authority opened a preliminary probe into the deal, seeking views on whether the combined business would affect competition in the market.
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