Procter & Gamble in talks to buy Sara Lee brands

Procter & Gamble, the maker of Pampers diapers and Pantene shampoo, is in talks to buy part of Sara Lee Corp’s international household products unit, according to people familiar with the discussions.

P&G is mainly interested in the division’s air-care business, which makes Ambi Pur air fresheners, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Sara Lee prefers to find one buyer for the entire unit, which also includes insecticide and Kiwi shoe polish, they said.

Sara Lee is unloading units to focus on coffee and food, and agreed to sell body-care and European detergent units to Unilever for 1.28 billion euros ($1.9 billion) last month. Based on that multiple of 1.8 times sales, the air-care unit would be worth about $700 million.

Sara Lee, based in Downers Grove, Illinois, said at the time the Unilever deal was announced that it has received “significant interest in the remainder of its household business and is continuing to pursue divestiture options.”

Officials from P&G and Sara Lee declined to comment.

P&G, based in Cincinnati, dropped 20 cents to $57.49 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Wednesday. Sara Lee shares rose 18 cents to $11.46. The air-care unit accounted for about 20 per cent of the household and body-care segment’s sales, according to a 2008 Sara Lee presentation to analysts. Total sales for the segment in the year ended in June were $2.03 billion.

Unilever is buying a unit that includes brands such as Sanex shower gel and Duschdas and Radox soap. It generated 750 million euros in sales in the year ended in June.

Sara Lee’s units may also draw interest from companies including Godrej Consumer Products, India’s second-biggest soap maker.