Скачать или смотреть Sarah Lee Will Spinoff International Coffee Business

Sara Lee Corp (NYSE:SLE) announced an update to its plans to split into two publicly traded pure-play companies, saying it will spin off its International Coffee and Tea business, as opposed to spinning off its North American business.

Executive Chairman Jan Bennink said, "This transaction is more than a spin-off of one business segment - we are really separating a global company into two, independent pure-play companies, which adds complexity as well as opportunity. As we began to get into the details of separating the two businesses, we determined there are greater efficiencies to be gained from spinning off the International Coffee business."

CEO Marcel Smits, commenting on the North American business, said; "We are continuing to look at price increases to recover our gross margins, but we're also taking out significant costs from this business. In addition, we will increase our marketing investment in our core brands, continue to expand from traditional products to premium offerings and focus our innovation efforts on convenience and 'better for you' products."

In addition, the company provided an update on the sale of its North American Fresh Bakery business, saying that Grupo Bimbo, the company to which it is selling the bakery unit, has had "substantive discussions" with the Department of Justice. Sarah Lee believes the transaction will close early in fiscal year 2012.

Shares of Sara Lee are trading up 1.87% at $19.04.