KARACHI (The Thursday Times) — US spice maker McCormick & Company has told the Pakistan Stock Exchange that it intends to buy at least 76.55% of Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, the company behind Knorr and Rafhan in Pakistan, as part of its takeover of most of Unilever’s food business worldwide.
The public announcement of intention, filed on Wednesday through Arif Habib Limited as manager to the offer, covers 4,876,294 shares now held by Conopco, Inc., the Unilever subsidiary that controls the Pakistani company. McCormick plans to buy that block directly from Conopco, either itself or through an affiliate, and will then make a public offer to the remaining shareholders under the takeover regulations.
Part of a $44.8 billion deal
The Pakistani move follows a merger agreement signed on March 31 under which McCormick will take sole control of substantially all of Unilever PLC’s food business, subject to agreed exclusions. The deal, valued at about $44.8 billion, brings brands such as Knorr and Hellmann’s together with McCormick’s spices and sauces. It is structured as a Reverse Morris Trust: Unilever and its shareholders will own 65% of the combined company, and McCormick will pay Unilever $15.7 billion in cash. India is among the markets left out of the deal.
The combined company will keep the McCormick name and its headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, under McCormick’s chairman and chief executive, Brendan Foley. Founded in 1889, McCormick sells herbs, spices, seasonings and condiments in about 150 countries and territories. It said it holds no shares or voting rights in Unilever Pakistan Foods at present.
Unilever Pakistan Foods first told the exchange in April that the global deal was expected to change the ultimate ownership and control of Conopco’s stake.
What minority shareholders can expect
The filing does not give a price. The number of shares McCormick will seek through the public offer is still to be set, and the offer will be made under Regulation 14 of the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2017. It said the offer could become a competitive bid under Regulation 17.
Unilever Pakistan Foods shares closed at Rs25,352 on Tuesday, the last trading day before the announcement, against a 28-day weighted average of Rs25,308 between September 23 and October 20. At that price the company, which has 6,369,950 shares in issue, is worth about Rs161 billion, and Conopco’s block about Rs124 billion.
The acquisition needs all regulatory approvals, including from the Competition Commission of Pakistan. McCormick said it may withdraw its announcement for any reason, including a failure to obtain those approvals. Arif Habib said the announcement would be published in newspapers within two working days.
Sales up, profit down
The filing shows Unilever Pakistan Foods, which also owns Energile and Glaxose-D, increased net sales by 20% to Rs40.57 billion in 2025, while profit after tax fell 15% to Rs5.95 billion. Earnings per share were Rs933.50, and the company paid Rs1,651 a share in dividends, more than it earned. In the first half of 2026 it made a profit of Rs4.34 billion on sales of Rs25.26 billion.
The company is led by chief executive Amir Paracha. It was known as Rafhan Bestfoods until 2007, when it took the Unilever name after Unilever’s purchase of Bestfoods.∎
