March 20 (Reuters) - Unilever said on Friday it was in talks with U.S.-based McCormick & Company about selling its foods business, in a potential deal that would bring together its Hellmann's and Knorr brands with McCormick's iconic Cholula hot sauce.
Unilever said it has received an inbound offer for the business, which made up about a quarter of its total sales in 2025, generating over 12.9 billion euros ($14.91 billion) last year.
The talks mark a potential acceleration of CEO Fernando Fernandez's
strategy to reposition Unilever towards higher-margin beauty and personal care categories following the spin-off of its ice cream business last year.
There can be no certainty that a deal will be agreed, the companies said in separate statements. They provided no financial details.
The companies confirmed the talks on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported late on Thursday that Unilever was in talks to separate its food business, which also includes such brands as Colman and Marmite, and combine it with spice maker McCormick in an all-stock deal that could come within weeks.
The Financial Times reported in March that Unilever had unsuccessfully weighed merging its food assets with Kraft Heinz's condiments business.
($1 = 0.8650 euros)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Tomasz Janowski)
