US conglomerate Sara Lee is to shed its underwear.
The maker of such diverse brands as Wonderbra and Jammie Dodgers cookies has inked a €100 million ($116m; £67m) deal to sell off its European apparel division to an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners.
Chicago-headquartered Sara Lee signalled earlier this year [WAMN: 14-Feb-05] that it would spin off certain assets to concentrate on its food, beverage, household and body care businesses.
The apparel brands, marketed in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Eastern Europe, also include Playtex and Dim. They generated nearly $1.2 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended July 2.
The company will hold on to Playtex and Wonderbra as part of its US apparel business, which spokeswoman Julie Ketay says it still intends to spin off between June and September 2006.
Data sourced from reuters.com; additional content by WARC staff
