Sara Lee and Grupo Bimbo Receive U.S. Department of Justice Approval on North American Fresh Bakery Sale
24 Oktober 2011 - 8:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSRL
Sara Lee and Grupo Bimbo Receive U.S. Department of Justice
Approval on North American Fresh Bakery Sale
Department of Justice remedies lead to reduced sale price of
$709 million
Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) has announced that it has reached an
agreement with Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: BIMBO) and the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) that will allow the parties to complete
the sale of Sara Lee's North American Fresh Bakery business to
Grupo Bimbo following approval by a federal judge. The transaction
is expected to close on Nov. 5, 2011.
The agreement with the DOJ includes remedies requiring Grupo
Bimbo to divest certain brands and assets in the following regions
and metropolitan areas - Omaha, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and
central Pennsylvania. In addition, Grupo Bimbo will be required to
divest certain assets and the perpetual rights to the Sara Lee and
Earthgrains brands for fresh bread, buns and rolls in the state of
California. As a result of these remedies, the parties have agreed
to reduce the purchase price, which includes the assumption of
debt, from $959 million to $709 million. As previously agreed,
Grupo Bimbo will continue to assume all employee related
commitments, including pension obligations.
"We're very pleased we've obtained regulatory approval and can
now move toward closing this sale," said Marcel Smits, chief
executive officer of Sara Lee Corp. "The North American Fresh
Bakery business is a great fit for Grupo Bimbo, and this
transaction allows Sara Lee to aggressively drive growth in our
core coffee and meats categories as well as return shareholder
value."
Sara Lee reiterated its intention to declare a $3.00 per share
special dividend on the company's common stock. The exact timing of
the dividend payout is still being determined.
As a part of the North American Fresh Bakery transaction, Sara
Lee will retain the right to sell Sara Lee branded frozen desserts
and meat products, including sliced deli meats. Grupo Bimbo will
have the rights to the Sara Lee brand in the fresh baked goods
category globally, with the exception of Australia and New
Zealand.
In addition to the national fresh bakery brand Sara Lee, the
acquisition provides Grupo Bimbo with a collection of leading
regional bakery brands, such as Grandma Sycamore's, Heiner's and
Rainbo. As part of the transaction, all of Sara Lee's approximately
13,000 North American Fresh Bakery employees will transfer to Grupo
Bimbo. The sale also includes 41 plants in the U.S. and
approximately 4,800 bakery routes.
About Sara Lee Corporation
Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of
consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of
the world's best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative
and trusted food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe
Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee and Senseo.
Collectively, our brands generate nearly $9 billion in annual net
sales from continuing operations. Sara Lee has approximately 20,000
employees in its continuing operations worldwide. In January 2011,
Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two
pure-play publicly-traded companies. One company will be focused
around the current International Coffee and Tea business, while the
other company will be focused on the North American Retail Meats
and North American Foodservice businesses. For more information on
this news and on Sara Lee's brands, please visit
www.saralee.com.
Sara Lee Corp.Media:Mike Cummins,
+1.630.598.8412orAnalysts:Melissa Napier, +1.630.598.8739
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