McCormick acquires Unilever's food business in a $65 billion cross-border deal as Q1 2026 global M&A hits $1.2 trillion

US-based McCormick & Company has announced the acquisition of Unilever's food business, creating a combined entity valued at $65 billion and forming one of the world's largest food conglomerates. The transaction, which carries a clear UK nexus given Unilever's London listing and significant UK operational footprint, represents the standout cross-border deal of Q1 2026. The deal lands in a quarter that has already broken records: global M&A volumes exceeded $1.2 trillion in Q1 2026, with cross-border activity up 47% year-on-year to a record $454.7 billion, according to LSEG data. The United Kingdom was the second most targeted nation for cross-border transactions, accounting for 11.5% of deal flow — behind only the US at 52.4%. Strategically, the McCormick-Unilever transaction reflects a broader trend of US acquirers targeting UK and European consumer assets, driven partly by the desire to build domestic US footprints that provide insulation from tariff exposure. For Unilever, the divestment of its food division continues a portfolio rationalisation it has been pursuing for several years, separating lower-growth food assets from its higher-margin beauty and personal care businesses. The scale of the transaction — and its cross-border structure involving a US buyer and a UK-listed seller with global operations — activates a wide range of legal workstreams, including public M&A, antitrust clearance across multiple jurisdictions, and complex tax structuring. No legal advisers are named in the sources.

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