Breakup plan moving ahead

Article Excerpt

SARA LEE CORP. $18 (New York symbol SLE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 590.7 million; Market cap: $10.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.saralee.com) has agreed to sell most of its North American coffee operations to J.M. Smucker Co. (New York symbol SJM) for $350 million. The deal should close by the end of 2011. This business, which accounts for 6% of Sara Lee’s total revenue, sells a variety of coffee, tea and related equipment to restaurants. Smucker has also agreed to license Sara Lee’s coffee-making technology for an additional $50 million over the next 10 years. To put these figures in context, Sara Lee earned $338 million, or $0.54 a share, in the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011. This sale is part of Sara Lee’s plan to break itself into two separate, publicly traded companies. One of these firms will consist of Sara Lee’s international coffee and tea businesses. The other will…