McCormick to Acquire Gourmet Garden Herbs

Herbs and spices company McCormick this week announced the acquisition of the Australian company behind the Gourmet Garden line of packaged, refrigerated herbs.

Maryland-based McCormick & Co. will pay $114 million in cash to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Botanical Food Company, which operates a 200-employee facility in Queensland, Australia, and exports Gourmet Garden to 15 countries.

The U.S. is the brand's largest market, and retail customers in North America and Australia account for 90 percent of its $53 million in annual sales.

McCormick said that Gourmet Garden is growing at a double-digit rate and that it plans to bolster promotion of the brand and expand its global distribution. Company officials said that the acquisition would "expand our portfolio of leading brands around the world."

"The owners and employees of Gourmet Garden have built a great business, and we look forward to working with them to achieve continued success," McCormick President and CEO Lawrence Kurzius said in a statement.

McCormick last week dropped efforts to acquire U.K.-based Premier Foods due to a disagreement between the companies on the offer price.