Clifford Chance, Cleary Gottlieb, Wachtell Lipton, and Hogan Lovells advised on USD 44.8 billion combination of Unilever Foods with McCormick.
Unilever plc and McCormick & Company have entered into a definitive agreement to combine Unilever’s Foods business with McCormick through a Reverse Morris Trust, creating a scaled global flavor powerhouse.
Under the terms of the transaction, Unilever and Unilever shareholders will receive a proportionate mix of McCormick’s existing voting and non-voting common stock, equating to 65.0% of the fully diluted combined company equity, equivalent to $29.1 billion, as well as $15.7 billion in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. This consideration implies an enterprise value for Unilever Foods of approximately $44.8 billion.
Clifford Chance advised Unilever on the combination.
The cross-practice deal team was led by Partners Melissa Fogarty and Dominic Ross, with Partners Alanna Hunter and Harriet Martin, and Senior Associates Jennifer Xue, Chelsea Bruk-Jackson, Sheridan Jones, and Daniel Ayad (M&A) supporting the transaction.
Wachtell Lipton served as U.S. legal counsel to Unilever, with Partners Benjamin M. Roth, Jenna E. Levine, and Ahsan M. Barkatullah; Associates Farrah M. Ricketts, Mario D. Ramirez, and Visiting Attorney Thaís Ruggeri Giancotti (Corporate); Counsel Joseph S. Payne (Capital Markets); Partners Michael J. Schobel and Sofya Bakradze (Executive Compensation & Benefits); Of Counsel Stephanie L. Teicher and Associates Benjamin J. Nickerson and Gabe Y. Delabra (Finance); and Partners Jodi J. Schwartz, T. Eiko Stange, Zachary B. Becker, and Visiting Attorney Lawrence B.W. Parkin (Tax).
Cleary Gottlieb advised McCormick & Company.
The M&A team was led by Partners Glenn McGrory and Charles Allen, with Senior Attorney Kim Petrick and Associates Francesca D’Agostino, Yuan He, William Shi, Samuel Olson (New York), and Partner Dan Tierney and Associates James Soussa and Luca Engström (London).
Hogan Lovells acted as co-counsel to McCormick in connection with the combination.
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