- Unilever
- 31 March 2026 13:50:51
Source: Sharecast
Under the terms of the agreement, McCormick will pay $15.7bn in cash and the equivalent of $29.1bn in McCormick shares for most of Unilever’s food business, which includes the Hellman’s, Bovril and Marmite brands.
Unilever shareholders will own 55.1% of the fully diluted combined company equity, while Unilever will own a 9.9% stake.
Following the separation of the foods business, Unilever will become a pureplay HPC business spanning beauty, wellbeing, personal care and home care.
"This focuses resources towards categories with strong structural growth and highest returns," it said.
Unilever chief executive Fernando Fernandez said: "For Unilever, this transaction is another decisive step in sharpening our portfolio and accelerating our strategy towards high-growth categories as a €39bn pureplay HPC company with a proven sector-leading growth profile.
"We are unlocking trapped value through a growth-led separation of Foods, creating a scaled, global flavour powerhouse. By combining Unilever Foods' iconic leading brands and global reach with McCormick's exceptional portfolio, category expertise and capabilities, we are establishing a focused, high-quality business with significant top line growth and value creation potential."
The deal excludes parts of Unilever's foods portfolio such as its business in India.
At 1347 BST, Unilever shares were down 1.4% at 4,464.50p, while
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