Sara Lee Amends the Timing of Share Repurchase Plan

 
TIDMSRL 
 
 

  Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) today announced that it plans to amend the timing of its calendar 2010 share purchases by using a portion of the proceeds from each pending Household & Body Care (H&BC) transaction to repurchase up to $800 million of shares. The company's current $500 million (approximately 36 million shares of common stock) accelerated stock repurchase program, announced in March 2010, is expected to be completed during this summer. After this, the company will recommence share buybacks as the various H&BC transactions close. 
 

  Sara Lee remains committed to its previously announced share repurchase strategy, as it still intends to buy back $2.5 to $3.0 billion of stock over a three-year period, with $1.0 to $1.3 billion to be repurchased in calendar year 2010. 
 

  To date, Sara Lee has announced three transactions from its Household & Body Care segment divestiture process. All are subject to customary closing conditions. 
 
 
    -- On Sept. 25, 2009, Sara Lee announced that it received a binding offer 

       of EUR1.275 billion from Unilever to acquire its global body care and 

       European detergents businesses. The proposed transaction is expected 

       to close by the end of calendar year 2010. 
 
    -- On Dec. 11, 2009, Sara Lee Corp. announced it received a binding offer 

       from The Procter & Gamble Company to acquire Sara Lee's air care 

       business for EUR320 million. The proposed transaction is anticipated to 

       close by the end of Sara Lee's fiscal year. 
 
    -- On May 12, 2010, the company announced it agreed to sell its 51 

       percent stake in the Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. joint venture to Godrej 

       Consumer Products Ltd. for EUR185 million. The transaction is 

       anticipated to close before the end of Sara Lee's fiscal year. 
 

  The company continues to evaluate the best opportunities for value creation and investment of cash, including potential acquisitions or other investments in the company's growth. 
 

  Forward-Looking Statements 
 

  This release contains forward-looking statements regarding Sara Lee's business prospects, future earnings growth, share repurchase plans, credit ratings, future dividend amount and payout ratios, tax costs and cash flow. In addition, from time to time, in oral statements and written reports, the corporation discusses its expectations regarding the corporation's future performance by making forward-looking statements preceded by terms such as "anticipates," "we are confident," "expects," "likely" or "believes." These forward-looking statements are based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and management's views and assumptions regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and investors must recognize that actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Consequently, the corporation wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause Sara Lee's actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements are factors relating to: 
 
 
    -- Future opportunities that the Board may determine present greater 

       potential value to shareholders than the current capital plans and 

       targets, including without limitation potential acquisitions, joint 

       ventures or other corporate transactions, and investments in Sara 

       Lee's business; 
 
    -- Future operating or capital needs that require a more significant 

       outlay of cash than currently anticipated; 
 
    -- Sara Lee's relationship with its customers, such as (i) a significant 

       change in Sara Lee's business with any of its major customers, such as 

       Walmart, its largest customer, including changes in how such customers 

       manage their suppliers and the level of inventory these customers 

       maintain; and (ii) credit and other business risks associated with 

       customers operating in a highly competitive retail environment; 
 
    -- The consumer marketplace, such as (iii) significant competition, 

       including advertising, promotional and price competition; (iv) changes 

       in consumer behavior due to economic conditions, such as a shift in 

       consumer demand toward private label; (v) fluctuations in the cost of 

       raw materials, Sara Lee's ability to increase or maintain product 

       prices in response to fluctuations in cost and the impact on 

       Sara Lee's profitability; (vi) the impact of various food safety 

       issues and regulations on sales and profitability of Sara Lee 

       products; and (vii) inherent risks in the marketplace associated with 

       new product introductions, including uncertainties about trade and 

       consumer acceptance; 
 
    -- Sara Lee's international operations, such as (viii) impacts on 

       reported earnings from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange 

       rates, particularly the European euro; (ix) Sara Lee's generation of a 

       high percentage of its revenues from businesses outside the United 

       States and costs to remit these foreign earnings into the United 

       States to fund Sara Lee's domestic operations, share repurchase plans 

       and corporate costs; (x) the impact on Sara Lee's business of its 

       receipt of binding offers to purchase a large portion of its H&BC 

       business, its intent to divest the remainder of that business and the 

       scope, timing and possibility of non-completion of such divestitures; 

       and (xi) Sara Lee's ability to continue to source production and 

       conduct manufacturing and selling operations in various countries due 

       to changing business conditions, political environments, import quotas 

       and the financial condition of suppliers; 
 
    -- Previous business decisions, such as (xii) Sara Lee's ability to 

       generate margin improvement through cost reduction and efficiency 

       initiatives, including Project Accelerate and the outsourcing of 

       significant portions of our financial transaction processing, global 

       IT, and global indirect procurement activities; (xiii) Sara Lee's 

       ability to achieve planned cash flows from capital expenditures and 

       acquisitions and the impact of changing interest rates and the cost of 

       capital on the discounted value of those planned cash flows, which 

       could impact future impairment analyses; (xiv) credit ratings issued 

       by the three major credit rating agencies, the impact of Sara Lee's 

       capital plans and targets on such credit ratings and the impact these 

       ratings and changes in these ratings may have on Sara Lee's cost to 

       borrow funds, access to capital/debt markets, and ability to complete 

       the planned share repurchase; (xv) Sara Lee's plan to refinance 

       significant outstanding indebtedness in the next two years and the 

       impact of potential changes in the credit environment; (xvi) Sara 

       Lee's plan to repurchase a significant amount of its common stock and 

       the impact of such repurchases on its earnings, cash flow and credit 

       ratings; (xvii) the settlement of a number of ongoing reviews of 

       Sara Lee's income tax filing positions in various jurisdictions and 

       inherent uncertainties related to the interpretation of tax 

       regulations in the jurisdictions in which Sara Lee transacts business; 

       and (xviii) changes in the expense for and contingent liabilities 

       relating to multi-employer pension plans in which Sara Lee 

       participates. 
 

  In addition, Sara Lee's results may also be affected by general factors, such as economic conditions, political developments, interest and inflation rates, accounting standards, taxes and laws and regulations in markets where the corporation competes. Sara Lee undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 
 

  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, beverage, household and body care brands, including Ambi Pur, Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Kiwi, Sanex, Sara Lee and Senseo. Collectively, these brands generate almost $13 billion in annual net sales covering approximately 180 countries. The Sara Lee community consists of 41,000 employees worldwide. Please visit www.saralee.com for the latest news and in-depth information about Sara Lee and its brands. 
 
Sara Lee Corporation 
Media: Jon Harris, +1.630.598.8661 
Analysts: Aaron Hoffman, +1.630.598.8739