Lawry's and Adolph's to Help McCormick Toward 6% Growth

McCormick & Co. (Sparks, MD) has acquired the Lawry's and Adolph's brands in the United States and Canada from Unilever for $605 million. The seasoning blend and marinade units, which generated combined revenue of ~$150 million in 2006, are expected to aid McCormick's goal to grow sales by as much as 6%. The deal includes no transfer of facilities or employees.

Of the deal, McCormick chairman and CEO Robert Lawless said, "We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement for the purchase of Lawry's. The acquisition of attractive consumer brands to complement our existing portfolio of flavors for food is one of our key objectives. Lawry's is a well-known brand that has achieved a high level of consumer acceptance over the years.

We are excited about the opportunity to enter the growing marinades category and to achieve synergies through the utilization of our manufacturing assets to produce the seasoning blends. We intend to invest a portion of the synergies we achieve to reinvigorate sales growth through innovation and focused marketing."

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