The Spice War is over, and McCormick & Co. Inc. won.
Burns Philp & Co., the Australian conglomerate that waged an expensive battle of attrition against the Sparks-based spice giant, is getting out of the business completely.
The company said it will sell its money-losing spice business, and three of its top executives are quitting.
McCormick had trouble containing glee at beating back a decade-long challenge to a franchise it started building in Baltimore 108 years ago.
"When you've been engaged in a global war and the other guy who started it waves a white flag, it's tough not to feel good about it," Carroll Nordhoff, McCormick's executive vice president, said yesterday.
Burns Philp said it's selling a business that includes the Durkee-French, Spice Islands, Tone's, British Pepper & Spice, Euroma and Ostmann brands.
McCormick would not rule out the possibility of making a bid for the business.
"It's early," Nordhoff said. "But at this point, we're not closing the door on any options. I wouldn't preclude or foreclose any action."
McCormick, the world's largest spice company, employs about 7,300 people worldwide, including about 2,000 in Hunt Valley and Harford County.
It has about $1.7 billion in annual sales.
The victory over Burns Philp culminates a comeback by McCormick in the face of adversity that struck its boardroom and its business.
First, Bailey A. Thomas, then chairman and chief executive, died from a heart attack three years ago.
The next CEO, Eugene Blattman, retired at the end of 1995 because of a heart ailment.
Charles P. "Buzz" McCormick, the retired chairman, re-assumed the chairmanship upon Thomas' death. He assumed the CEO job in the beginning of 1996, replacing Blattman.
Satisfied that the company was in good hands, McCormick in January relinquished the CEO job to Robert J. Lawless, the chief operating officer. McCormick, now semi-retired, remains chairman.
If Burns Philp sells its business off in pieces, McCormick will be left with small regional spice companies as competitors in its huge retail market.
If the spice business is sold to a single buyer, McCormick might face another huge competitor.
"I would say this will be an advantage to McCormick unless it's bought by someone who really wants to be in the spice business and will really concentrate on it," said Kurt Funderburg, a Ferris Baker Watts analyst.
