Unilever, McCormick food deal may weaken UK competition, watchdog says

Nov 11 (Reuters) – Unilever’s (ULVR.L), $65 ​billion deal to merge ‌its foods business with US spice maker McCormick (MKC.N), could ​potentially weaken competition ​in the UK, Britain’s competition ⁠watchdog said on ​Wednesday.

Unilever, owner of Hellmann’s ​mayonnaise and Knorr bouillon, announced in March it would merge ​its food business with ​Frank’s RedHot and French’s mustard ‌maker ⁠McCormick, in the second-largest food transaction in history.

The UK’s Competition and Markets ​Authority said ​it ⁠would refer the deal to an ​in-depth investigation unless ​the ⁠parties offer remedies to address its competition concerns ⁠before ​a November 18 ​deadline.

Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee