US-headquartered Toms Capital Investment Management has reportedly built a stake in McCormick, the US-based spices and seasonings business.
According to unnamed sources for Reuters, the size of the investor’s interest is ‘significant’, the news agency said on Friday
The sources familiar with the issue were not permitted to discuss any details but said Toms, which also has an office in London, made the investment at an unspecified point in the second quarter. Approached by Just Food, Toms and McCormick had not responded to a request for to comment at the time of publication. On 20 March, Unilever confirmed it was in discussions with McCormick to sell most of its food assets, what the FMCG giant described at the time as a “potential strategic transaction”.
By the end of that month, the talks had moved to an “advanced” stage and before the day concluded on 31 March, a deal was revealed. It combines brands such as McCormick’s namesake line of herbs and seasonings, French’s mustard and Frank’s RedHot sauce with Unilever’s Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr cooking aids and Colman’s mustard. The transaction valued Unilever’s food business at around $44.8bn.