M&A

17 November, 2009

S.C. Johnson eyes Sara Lee's air fresheners - WSJ

PHILADELPHIA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Privately held S.C. Johnson & Son Inc has emerged as a bidder for Sara Lee Corp's (SLE.N) air freshener operations, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

S.C. Johnson and Sara Lee declined to comment.

Sara Lee previously hired Goldman Sachs to run an auction for its household-care business, which includes Kiwi shoe polish and insecticides.

Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) already has eyed the air freshener business, but does not want the other parts of the unit, sources previously told Reuters.

But S.C. Johnson may be interested in the entire unit, which could fetch more than $700 million, The Wall Street Journal reported in its electronic edition.

A deal for the unit could still be weeks away, the newspaper said. (Reporting by Jessica Hall, editing by Leslie Gevirtz) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here)

Source: http://www.reuters.com