November 9/Downers Grove, Ill./London Stock Exchange Aggregated Regulatory News Service -- Sara Lee Corp. has signed an agreement to sell its North American Fresh Bakery business to Grupo Bimbo for $959 million. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances, is anticipated to close during the first half of calendar year 2011.
"This strategic move will further enable Sara Lee to aggressively drive growth in our core coffee and protein categories, organically and through acquisitions," said Marcel Smits, interim chief executive officer of Sara Lee Corp. "In addition to our $2.5 to $3.0 billion share repurchase program, last week's dividend increase and our strong stock price performance over the past year, this is the another example of Sara Lee pursuing shareholder value."