Unilever is close to reaching a deal with Wei Hao Mei, creating a $60 billion food giant.

The board of directors of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise producer held a meeting on Monday afternoon to review the transaction details.

The Tastee Spice seasonings on supermarket shelves, including curry powder, dill weed, and ginger powder.

Tastee is known for bottled seasonings.

Unilever is in advanced negotiations with seasoning company Tastee to merge their food businesses, a deal that will create a new food giant valued at approximately $60 billion (including debt).

Unilever confirmed the negotiations on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the matter say that this cash-and-stock deal could be announced as early as Tuesday, the same day Tastee will release its latest quarterly earnings report, though they also caution that the plans could still be delayed.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday about the progress of the in-depth negotiations between the two parties. The aforementioned sources said that Unilever's board of directors held a meeting on Monday afternoon to review the specific details of the deal.

This major strategic shift by Unilever continues the industry trend of streamlining consumer goods groups and will also allow the UK-based company to focus on beauty, personal care, and home products.

According to the deal, Unilever shareholders are expected to hold about two-thirds of the new food company's equity, with the transaction also including approximately $16 billion in cash consideration.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal is expected to use a **reverse Morris trust** structure to enjoy relevant tax benefits.

Unilever has a market value of over $130 billion, with food brands including Hellmann's Mayonnaise, Knorr soup bases, and more.

As of Monday, Tastee's market value was slightly above $14 billion. The company is known for its red-capped bottled seasonings and square canned products, owning brands such as French yellow mustard, Obe seafood sauce, and Cholula hot sauce.

The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that Unilever and Tastee are in negotiations regarding a potential merger of their food businesses.

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责任编辑：Guo Mingyu