Jars of Unilever brand Hellmann’s mayonnaise for sale at a store in Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States, Wednesday, January 19, 2022.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
McCormick will buy Unilever food sector for a combination of cash and equity, in a deal that values the Unilever unit at nearly $45 billion, the two food companies said.
To buy most of the Unilever Foods portfolio, including Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Britain’s favorite Marmite, McCormick will pay $15.7 billion in cash, and Unilever and its shareholders will own 65% of the combined company.
The deal will add billions of dollars in annual sales to McCormick and further expand the spice giant’s portfolio into spreads and condiments. She already has Frank’s RedHot and Cholula hot sauces.
For Unilever, divesting a large part of its food business allows the company to focus on its faster-growing personal care segment. In December, Unilever spun off its ice cream business, which now operates separately as the Magnum Ice Cream Company.
The deal follows a broader trend among Big Food. Many packaged food and beverage companies have seen their business decline through divestitures and spinoffs as consumers buy less of their products. By 2024, nearly half of mergers and acquisitions in the consumer products sector came from divestitures, according to consultancy Bain.