Unilever has said a deal to sell its €12.9bn food division to US spice supplier McCormick could close as soon as today.
Set to fetch Unilever $15.7bn (£11.9bn) in cash, the majority of the deal’s value would be given to Unilever as McCormick equity, Unilever said in a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange this morning.
Unilever said it would hold 65% of the combined company upon completion.
While the fmcg giant warned “there can be no certainty that a transaction will be agreed”, the deal would see McCormick take on the vast majority of Unilever’s food division, excluding parts such as its Indian foods business.
The statement, made in response to media speculation, followed Unilever’s 20 March confirmation it had entered talks with McCormick.
Read more: Would McCormick be a good fit for Unilever food brands?
RBC analyst James Eduardes Jones said he “wasnt particularly impressed” by the deal.
”The problem with the proposed deal, in our view, is that the resulting business, of which Unilever would own about 65%, would be a much less concentrated business,” he said.
”This in inconsistent with Unilever’s justification for owning the food business until now, which has been that with this concentration on just two brands it’s actually a valuable part of the Unilever group. We are not sure of the justification for introducing partial ownership of a less concentrated business.
“If that’s right (and we will have to wait for the full announcement - if forthcoming - to be sure) it leaves Unilever with partial ownership of a more complicated business rather than full ownership of one dominated by just two brands. That doesn’t sound terribly appealing to us.”
McCormick is headquartered in Maryland and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The business generated revenues of $6.8bn in the 12 months to 30 November 2025, a rise of 2% year on year.
It supplies a range of herbs, spices, and seasonings, including the Schwartz brand, as well as condiments such as Frank’s RedHot, Cholula and French’s.
McCormick explored a £540m takeover of Premier Foods in 2016 before eventually walking away from the deal after tabling three offers. It acquired Italian flavourings business Enrico Giotti for €120m later that year.
Barclays estimated the value of a standalone Unilever food business to be in the range of €28bn to €31bn; a higher estimate from RBC put the business at around €40bn.
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