Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Unilever’s confirmed that it’s in advanced discussions to do a deal on its foods business, whose top brands are household names Hellmann’s and Knorr.
“The suitor is US rival McCormick & Co, and an agreement could be announced as early as today.
“A deal could include a $15.7billion up-front payment but would be mainly settled in McCormick shares.
“Compared to beauty products, the division has been a drag on growth in recent years, but it may seek to hold onto some of the jewels in the food business crown, such as the faster-growing Indian market.
“With the shares up around 0.7 per cent, this hasn’t come as a great surprise to investors.”
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