McCormick to Go All In on Mayo With Potential Unilever Deal

McCormick & Co. has been called the spice king, but with its latest acquisition push it’s trying to add condiments to that moniker.

The Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company is in talks to buy Unilever Plc’s food division, which would give it global brands such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise to pair with its French’s mustard and Frank’s RedHot brands.

Jars of Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise on the packaging line inside a Unilever PLC factory.

Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

The deal would be filled with risks. Unilever’s food business generated about $15 billion in sales last fiscal year, doubling all of McCormick. The transaction could value the Unilever unit at more than $30 billion — dwarfing McCormick’s biggest deal ...