Unilever to buy Sara Lee brands, unit for $1.88 bn

ATLANTA: Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, agreed to buy Sara Lee���s personal-care and European detergent unit for e1.28 billion ($1.88 billion), gaining Sanex shower gel in its biggest purchase in nine years. Unilever, based in London and Rotterdam, will pay cash for the business, which makes Duschdas and Radox soap and had sales of more than e750 million for the year ending June 2009, according to a statement on Friday. Sara Lee, which has been shedding units to focus on coffee and food, said the proceeds would help it buy back as much as $1 billion in stock.

The purchase is the largest by chief executive officer Paul Polman since he took the reins at Unilever at the start of the year. He focused the company on winning back cash-strapped shoppers and boosting sales volumes by cutting prices, and was rewarded as the company unexpectedly posted volume growth in western Europe in the second quarter.

���We���re not convinced that this is the greatest collection of assets, but another acquisition shows Unilever is still moving from the back foot ��� cost cutting, disposals ��� to the front foot ��� volume growth, acquisitions,��� Credit Suisse analysts said in an e-mailed note. The deal is Unilever���s biggest acquisition since buying SlimFast Foods and Ben & Jerry���s Homemade for a combined $2.6 billion in April 2000. Unilever���s brands besides food include Vaseline and Axe deodorants.

���This transaction builds on our portfolio in Western Europe and also in Asia,��� Polman said in the statement. ���The Sara Lee brands enjoy strong consumer recognition, offer significant growth potential and are an excellent fit with Unilever���s existing business.���