Analysts and Experts React to Unilever's Potential Food Business Sale to McCormick

Analysts React to Unilever's Potential Food Business Sale to McCormick

Overview of the Potential Unilever-McCormick Deal

March 20 (Reuters) - Unilever is in talks to sell its foods business to smaller rival McCormick & Company, a potential deal that would unite the British company's Hellmann's and Knorr brands with the U.S. spice maker's Cholula hot sauce.

Analysts at Barclays estimated the enterprise value of Unilever's food division, which has been growing more slowly than the company's overall business, at between 28 billion euros ($32.40 billion) and 31 billion euros.

McCormick's market capitalization is about $14.5 billion, much smaller than the potential value of Unilever's food business, with analysts signaling a possible Reverse Morris Trust transaction- a tax-free deal in which one company merges with a spun-off unit.

Here are some reactions to the potential deal:

Analyst Reactions to the Proposed Sale

Robert Moskow, Analyst at TD Cowen

Strategic Logic and Synergy Opportunities

"We see strong strategic logic for the combination and significant opportunities for synergies."

"This transaction creates an opportunity for McCormick to completely transform its business in terms of scale, international reach, and importance to retailers."

Chris Beckett, Consumer Staples Analyst at Quilter Cheviot, a Unilever Investor

McCormick's Acquisition Track Record

"To gain scale in food, (McCormick has) been a relatively acquisitive management team... they've done well with the brands that they've acquired."

"I think the McCormick management team have shown that they can manage food brands well, and I think they could manage a bigger business well."

Challenges in Structuring the Deal

"To try and get a deal that is giving Unilever a premium to make up for the dis-synergies at the same time making it work for McCormick's shareholders, I think, is probably going to be the difficult bit."

Jack Martin, Investment Director at Oberon Investments, a Unilever Investor

Rationale for Selling the Food Division

"As the slowest growing of the four remaining divisions by some distance... it makes sense to sell the food division."

Importance of Achieving an Attractive Deal

"The mooted value of the food business at a standalone venture is a significant chunk of Unilever’s current market cap, so achieving an attractive deal on the sale is the key thing."

Additional Information

($1 = 0.8643 euros)

(Reporting by Richa Naidu, Yadarisa Shabong and Alexander Marrow, compiled by Neil J Kanatt; Editing by Devika Syamnath)