Sara Lee Announces Exclusive Talks with Sagard to Sell EuroDough

This transaction would complete the divestment of Sara Lee's European Bakery operations and enable our international business to focus on its core coffee and tea activities.

Nov 8 2011 --- Sara Lee Corp. announced it is considering on an exclusive basis a binding offer from Sagard for the sale of EuroDough (Sara Lee's European chilled dough business) for a purchase price of €115 million (approximately $159 million at current exchange rates). The transaction is expected to be completed within 90 days and remains subject to consultations with works councils and regulatory clearance.

EuroDough, headquartered in France, is the leading European chilled dough player with operations in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. The business runs three manufacturing facilities and includes approximately 430 employees. In fiscal 2011, the business generated net sales of $184 million.

"The divestiture of the European chilled dough business in France advances Sara Lee's announced strategy of creating two pure-play publicly traded companies poised for growth," said Jan Bennink, executive chairman of the board, Sara Lee Corp.  "This transaction would complete the divestment of Sara Lee's European Bakery operations and enable our international business to focus on its core coffee and tea activities."

Sara Lee recently closed the sale of its North American fresh bakery business. The company also has reached an agreement to sell its fresh bakery business in Spain and Portugal in a transaction expected to close by the end of the calendar year. Should the current process in France lead to a divestiture, Sara Lee is expected to have received more than $1 billion in proceeds from its North American and European bakery assets.