McCormick & Company, Incorporated, In the Matter of

The Commission challenged McCormick & Company’s $605 million acquisition of Lawry’s and Adolph’s brands of seasoned salt products from Unilever N.V., alleging that the transaction would be detrimental to competition in the highly concentrated U.S. market for seasoned salts. According to the Commission’s complaint, the proposed deal would combine the two companies that comprise almost the entire $100 million market for seasoned salt, increasing the likelihood that McCormick would be able unilaterally to increase prices. McCormick agreed to divest its Season-All business to Morton, an FTC approved buyer, within 10 days of completing the acquisition.