McCormick is merging with Unilever’s food business

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Hellmann’s owner Unilever is spinning off its food business and merging it with spice maker McCormick to create a grocery staples behemoth. The deal values the Uniliver brands at about $45 billion and McCormick at $21 billion. The merger comes at a difficult time for food companies.