Sara Lee Agrees to Sell Its White King and Janola Cleaning Brands to Symex for €37.9 Million

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) announced today it has signed an agreement with Symex Holdings Limited (ASX: SYM) and Pental Products Pty Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Symex, to sell Sara Lee’s White King and Janola business for €37.9 million. The transaction is anticipated to close during the first quarter of calendar year 2011.

The White King and Janola business primarily develops, markets and sells bleach, toilet, laundry and other cleaning products in Australia and New Zealand. In fiscal 2009, this business generated annual sales of approximately €19 million ($28 million based on fiscal 2009 exchange rates) and accounted for approximately 1 percent of the adjusted operating segment income1 for the International Household and Body Care business.

Sara Lee has completed the sale of its body care business (to Unilever for €1.21 billion), its air care business (to P&G for €320 million) and its stake in its Godrej Sara Lee joint venture (to Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. for €185 million). In addition, the company announced the agreement to sell its non-Indian insecticides business (€153.5 million) to SC Johnson (the transfer of this business is currently pending approval by the European Commission). To date, total announced Household & Body Care transactions are expected to generate pretax sales proceeds of approximately €1.9 billion. In February, Sara Lee hedged €1.6 billion at $1.35.

Sara Lee’s International Household and Body Care business generated approximately €1.5 billion ($2.0 billion) in sales in fiscal 2009.

About Sara Lee Corporation

Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of the world’s best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative and trusted food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee and Senseo. Collectively, our brands generate nearly $11 billion in annual net sales. Sara Lee has approximately 33,000 employees in its continuing operations worldwide. Please visit www.saralee.com for the latest news and in-depth information about Sara Lee and its brands.

About Symex

Symex’s Pental Consumer Products Division is Australia’s largest manufacturer of soap, supplying its own brands of Country Life, Natural Selections, Sunlight, Velvet, Knights Castile and Lux Flakes, together with the sale of icon brands such as Softly premium wool wash, Huggie fabric softener, Country Homestead wool mix, Sureguard moth and silverfish repellent, Hi Speed iron cleaner and Close Up and Aim toothpastes. More information on Pental is available at: www.pental.com.au.

Symex’s Port Melbourne manufacturing facility produces refined oleo products such as glycerine, stearine, oleine and distilled fatty acids. These products are derived from naturally occurring fats and oils, such as tallow and coconut oil. Symex’s refined oleo products are exported to over 40 countries. Symex’s Port Melbourne manufacturing facility also produces White King and Janola products. More information on Symex is available at: www.symex.com.au.

1 Constitutes a non-GAAP financial measure. See the reconciliation to the most comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principle measure at the end of this release.

International Household and Body Care

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Segment Income before Depreciation and Amortization

        
        
        
      
      
        
          (in millions)
        
        
        
      
      
        
        
        
        
        
          

Fiscal 2009

        
      
      
        
        
        
           
        
      
      
        
          Operating Segment Income
        
        
          $242
        
      
      
        
        
        
           
        
      
      
        
          Increase in operating segment income from:
        
        
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Depreciation
        
        
          35
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Amortization
        
        
          8
        
      
      
        
        
        
          Significant Items(1)
        
        
          10
        
      
      
        
        
        
           
        
      
      
        
          Adjusted Operating Segment Income before Depreciation and 
          Amortization(2)
        
        
          $295
        
      
      
        
        
        
        
        
           
        
      
      
        
          

(1)

"Significant items" are income or charges that management believes have had a significant impact on the earnings of the segment, are not indicative of the segment's core operating results and affect comparability from period to period. For fiscal 2009, these items included charges for exit activities, asset and business dispositions; transformation and Project Accelerate costs; and income from benefit plan curtailment gains.

(2)

The term "adjusted operating segment income before depreciation and amortization" excludes from operating segment income as reported the impact of depreciation, amortization and significant items.