LONDON, March 20, 2026, 13:10 (GMT)
- Unilever and McCormick said Friday they’ve been in discussions about Unilever’s Foods business. 1
- Foods accounted for 26% of Unilever’s projected 2025 turnover. Barclays analysts, as quoted by Reuters, put the unit’s value somewhere between €28 billion and €31 billion. 2
- Unilever is looking to ramp up its focus on beauty, wellbeing, and personal care, following last year’s move to spin off its ice cream business. 2
Unilever on Friday confirmed it’s fielding an inbound offer for its Foods division and is now in talks with McCormick & Co., possibly paving the way for brands like Hellmann’s, Knorr and Marmite to change hands. McCormick has also acknowledged ongoing discussions about a potential strategic transaction involving the business unit. 1
The timing here is clear enough. These negotiations would fast-track CEO Fernando Fernandez’s campaign to slim Unilever down, sharpening its angle on beauty, wellbeing, and personal care—a strategy set in motion after last year’s ice cream spin-off. Looking at the 2025 numbers: Foods delivered 2.5% growth, while Beauty & Wellbeing jumped 4.3%, and Personal Care posted 4.7%. Foods still accounted for 26% of overall turnover. 2
Late Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Unilever and McCormick are in talks to carve out Unilever’s food division and merge it with McCormick in an all-stock deal. On Friday, both firms kept quiet on the financial terms and made it clear—no guarantee any deal gets done. Unilever’s board still calls Foods “highly attractive.” 3
These are hefty operations. Unilever’s food business covers condiments, cooking aids, and its Unilever Food Solutions division, which serves restaurants and caterers. Hellmann’s and Knorr stand out as flagship brands. McCormick, for its part, puts annual sales at roughly $7 billion in 150 countries, and counts French’s, Old Bay, Frank’s RedHot, and Cholula among its labels. 2
Not an easy deal to put together. Barclays analysts, quoted by Reuters, value Unilever’s food arm between €28 billion and €31 billion—well above McCormick’s own market cap. That mismatch has prompted doubts about whether a workable structure exists that both shareholder groups could accept. 4
Things have shifted fast. Just days ago, the Financial Times revealed Unilever was in discussions with Kraft Heinz to merge Unilever’s food portfolio with Kraft Heinz’s condiments arm, though those discussions fell through. Now, McCormick has stepped in as the firm officially in talks. 5
Analysts were split. TD Cowen’s Robert Moskow called the deal’s strategic rationale “strong,” but Chris Beckett at Quilter Cheviot flagged a tougher issue: crafting a setup that covers Unilever’s separation costs yet satisfies McCormick holders — “the difficult bit,” he said. 6
Bankers speaking to Reuters floated the possibility of a Reverse Morris Trust—essentially, a tax-friendly way for a company to offload a business and merge it with another. But hurdles remain. Financing and ownership details haven’t been made public, and, according to the FT, Unilever’s shared distribution set-up could complicate what might otherwise seem like a straightforward break. 4
Unilever shares gained 1.3% as of 1000 GMT. Still, the companies themselves warn there’s no guarantee a deal gets done—a transaction of this magnitude could run aground on valuation, tax issues, execution risks, or shareholders saying no. 4
