McCormick, Unilever Foods to Forge Global Flavor Leader in $20B Merger

McCormick is merging with Unilever's Foods business to form a global flavor leader with about $20B in 2025 revenue and an enterprise value near $44.8B. Post-close, Unilever shareholders would own roughly 55% of the combined company, McCormick about 35%, and Unilever around 9.9%, with Unilever receiving a $15.7B cash component. The deal is expected to generate about $600M in run-rate cost synergies (roughly $100M reinvested for growth), lift margins to ~23–25% by year 3, and reduce net leverage to 3.0x within two years, with closing targeted by mid-2027 and leadership split (McCormick leading the company, Unilever executives on the board); plans include a European secondary listing and maintained dividends, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.