Unilever and McCormick have announced that they have entered into an agreement to combine Unilever’s Foods business, excluding India and other excluded businesses ("Unilever Foods"), with McCormick.
The combination will create a scaled, global flavour powerhouse, bringing together two industry-leading, culturally aligned food businesses with strong momentum, superior top-line growth, and enhanced value creation.
The combined business will house leading, iconic brands, including McCormick, Knorr and Hellmann’s, as well as high-growth potential brands, including Cholula, Maille and Frank’s.
The separation of Unilever Foods will position Unilever as a leading pure-play HPC company, with EUR 39 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2025 and a sector-leading growth profile.
Post-completion, Unilever will operate across Beauty, Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care, with leading positions in attractive categories, fast-growing geographies and channels through a portfolio of high-performing, innovative brands.
The Transaction is another decisive step toward reshaping Unilever into a simpler, sharper, higher-growth company, built on synergistic capabilities across science-led innovation, demand creation, and operational execution.
Unilever has delivered superior performance versus the HPC sector over the last three years, demonstrating the Company’s market-making abilities and competitive strengths, which, with even sharper focus, will further strengthen the value creation model for shareholders.
In this Transaction, Unilever and Unilever shareholders will receive a proportionate mix of McCormick’s existing voting and non-voting common stock, equating to 65 percent of the fully diluted combined company equity.
Unilever will also receive USD 15.7 billion in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments, to offset one-off separation and tax costs; pay down debt to its current level of c.2.0x net debt to EBITDA following closing; and support EUR 6 billion of share buybacks expected to run between 2026 and 2029.
Combining McCormick and Unilever Foods
Upon closing, the Transaction will create two focused, faster-growing businesses in McCormick and Unilever, each better aligned with its categories, capabilities, and value-creation model.
The combination of Unilever’s Foods business with McCormick will create a global flavour powerhouse, anchored by a portfolio of iconic brands across herbs, spices, seasonings, cooking aids, sauces, and condiments.
It will bring together complementary geographic footprints and a global-leading presence across both retail and foodservice channels, with deep science and R&D capabilities to meet consumers’ growing demand for flavour.
The combined company will have a distinctive, attractive profile within the food industry, with leading positions in growth categories and a quality financial model of superior growth, supported by strong gross margins and continuous elevated brand investment.
McCormick provides a natural home for Unilever Foods, given the cultural alignment between the two companies and a proven track record of successfully integrating acquired brands and investing in them to accelerate growth.
Leadership, Governance, Listing Venue and Headquarters
The combined company will be led by the McCormick CEO and CFO, with senior management representation from Unilever Foods.
Upon closing of the Transaction, Brendan Foley will be the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of McCormick, and Marcos Gabriel will be the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Unilever will appoint four of the twelve members of the combined company Board of Directors.
McCormick will maintain its global headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and have an International Headquarters in the Netherlands. It will maintain its NYSE listing and is planning a secondary listing in Europe.
Unilever Foods has a long-standing presence in the Netherlands, home to its world-leading R&D capability, which supports its deep sector expertise. McCormick management views this capability as a core strength of the combined company and intends to maintain this substantial presence in the Netherlands.
As part of a larger, flavour-focused company, employees of both businesses will gain access to expanded career growth and professional development opportunities.
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