Big consumer-food M&A

The biggest food deals of the spring were not snack brands or soda makers. They were a spice company agreeing to swallow most of Unilever’s food arm for $44.8 billion, and Sysco agreeing to buy Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion. (bloomberg.com 1) (bloomberg.com 2) McCormick is the company behind red-capped spice jars, Old Bay, and French’s mustard. Unilever’s food business brings in brands like Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr bouillon, and a professional-kitchen arm that sells to chefs in more than 50 countries. (bloomberg.com) (unilever.com) The structure of that deal shows who really wanted out. McCormick is paying $15.7 billion in cash and about $29.1 billion in shares, which leaves Unilever and its shareholders with 65% of the combined company. (bloomberg.com) That means Unilever is not just selling ketchup-and-mayo brands for a check and walking away. It is trading a slower-growing division for control of a larger company while trying to remake itself around beauty, personal care, and home products under Chief Executive Officer Fernando Fernandez. (bloomberg.com) (unilever.com) Unilever’s food labels are not small side businesses. Knorr is a roughly €5 billion bouillon brand, and Hellmann’s is a nearly €3 billion mayonnaise brand, so McCormick is moving from spices on the shelf to a much broader sauces-and-condiments empire. (unilever.com) The Sysco deal is a different kind of bet. Sysco already delivers food to restaurants, hospitals, and schools, while Jetro Restaurant Depot runs 166 warehouse-style stores across 35 states where restaurants can buy in bulk and haul the goods away the same day. (bloomberg.com 1) (bloomberg.com 2) In plain terms, Sysco is buying a second lane into the same customer base. One lane is the delivery truck that drops pallets at the back door, and the other is the cash-and-carry warehouse where an owner can load meat, oil, and paper goods into a van before lunch. (markets.ft.com) Jetro generated about $16 billion of revenue in 2025, and Sysco said the price works out to about 14.6 times Jetro’s operating income. That is a rich multiple for a distributor, which tells you buyers are paying up for scale, recurring restaurant demand, and channels that still grow even when public markets wobble. (bloomberg.com) (markets.ft.com) Put the two deals together and the pattern is hard to miss. Big buyers are not chasing trendy new food brands; they are paying tens of billions for mustard, mayo, soup bases, warehouse stores, and delivery routes because those are the boring parts of the food business that throw off cash year after year. (bloomberg.com 1) (bloomberg.com 2) That is why these deals landed even with markets choppy in late March. If you can own the spice rack, the mayonnaise aisle, the chef’s stock cube, and the warehouse where restaurants refill the pantry, you do not need a boom year to make the math look attractive. (bloomberg.com) (markets.ft.com)