DJ : Sara Lee To Spin Out Coffee And Tea Business Instead

DJ : Sara Lee To Spin Out Coffee And Tea Business Instead
By Paul Ziobro

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sara Lee Corp. (SLE) said it will spin off its
international coffee and tea business instead of the North American business, a
revision of its plan to create two separate companies.
The change will allow Sara Lee to realize more benefits in financial
reporting, tax and other areas, Mike Cummins, a Sara Lee spokesman, said.
"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," Executive Chairman Jan Bennink said in a
statement.
Shares rose 2.2% in recent trading to $19.10.
Sara Lee in January said it would split into two independent companies, with
the North American business, which includes meat brands like Jimmy Dean and
Hillshire Farms, spun off into a new company.
Sara Lee expects the split up to be complete in early 2012.
Sara Lee also said that the sale of its North American fresh bakery business
to Grupo Bimbo SAB (BIMBO.MX) is expected to close in early 2012.
Last month, the packaged-food company said it swung to a fiscal third-quarter
profit as it reported higher sales across nearly all businesses, led by its
international beverage unit.